SWIFT 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

DONALD  SIDNEY-FRYER 
COLLECTION 


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"LOOK!    LOOK!"   EXCLAIMED  TOM.    "DOESN'T  THAT   SEEM 

SUSPICIOUS-? " 
Tom   Swift  and  His  Air   Scout.  Paee  20S 


TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS 
AIR  SCOUT 

OR 
Uncle  Sam's  Mastery  of  the  Sky 


BY 
VICTOR  APPLETON 

&0THOR  OP  "TOM   SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  CYCLE,"  '*TOM  SWIFf 

AND  HIS  BIG  TUNNEL,"  "TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR 
TANK,"  "THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  SERIES,"  ETC, 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 

Made  in  the  United  State,  of  Amen* 


BOOKS  FOR  BOYS 
By    VICTOR   APPLETON 

izmo.    Cloth.   Illustrated. 

THE  TOM  SWIFT  SERIES 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  CYCLE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRSHIP 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SUBMARINE  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RUNABOUT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIRELESS  MESSAGE 

TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  DIAMOND  MAKERS 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CAVES  OF  ICE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SKY  RACER 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RIFLE 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CITY  OF  GOLD 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  GLIDER 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  CAPTIVITY 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIZARD  CAMERA 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  SEARCHLIGHT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GIANT  CANNON 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  PHOTO  TELEPHONE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AERIAL  WARSHIP 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  BIG  TUNNEL 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  LAND  OF  WONDERS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  SERIES 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  IN  THE  WEST 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  ON  THE  COAST 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  IN  THE  JUNGLE 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  IN  EARTHQUAKE 

LAND 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  AND  THE  FLOOD 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  AT  PANAMA 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  UNDER  THE  SEA 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  BOYS  ON  THE  WAR 

FRONT 

THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS  SERIES 

THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS'  FIRST  VENTURE 
THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS  AT  SEASIDE 

PARK 
THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS  ON  BROAD- 

THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS'  OUTDOOR 

EXHIBITION 

THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS'  NEW  IDEA 
THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS  AT  THE  FAIR 
THE  MOTION  PICTURE  CHUMS'  WAR 

SPECTACLE 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  New  Yorfc 

i  ._  .  mt  i    I  Mm  »r  inn  mil  III   i 

COPYRIGHT,  1919,  BY 
GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 

Tom  Swift  and  His  Air  Scov* 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  A  SKY  RIDE I 

II  A  NEW  IDEA n 

III  THE  BIG  OFFER 20 

IV  MR.   DAMON'S   WHIZZER 28 

V  TOM'S   PROJECT 37 

VI  MAKING  PLANS 47 

VII  A  PROBLEM  IN  SOUND 53 

VIII  THROUGH  THE  ROOF 60 

IX  AFTER  A  SPY 72 

X  A  BIG  SPLASH 80 

XI  A  NIGHT  TRIP 89 

XII  THE  CRY  FOR  HELP 98 

XIII  SOMETHING  QUEER 104 

XIV  THE  TELEPHONE  CALL in 

XV  A  VAIN  SEARCH 120 

XVI  THE  LONG  NIGHT 129 

XVII  SILENT  SAM.. 138 

XVIII  SUSPICIONS 146 

XIX  ANOTHER  FLIGHT 154 

Hi 


fv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX  QUEER  MARKS 161 

XXI  THE  DESERTED  CABIN 169 

XXII  CLEWS  AT  LAST ...  177 

XXIII  THE  GOVERNMENT  TEST . .  185 

XXIV  IN  THE  MOONLIGHT 104 

XXV  THE  GOLD  TOOTH..                    ................  206 


TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS 
AIR  SCOUT 

CHAPTER  i 

A  SKY  RIDE 

"On,  Tom,  is  it  really  safe?" 

A  young  lady — an  exceedingly  pretty  young 
lady,  she  could  be  called — stood  with  one  small, 
gloved  hand  on  the  outstretched  wing  of  an  aero- 
plane, and  looked  up  at  a  young  man,  attired  in  a 
leather,  fur-lined  suit,  who  sat  in  the  cockpit  of 
the  machine  just  above  her. 

"Safe,  Mary?"  repeated  the  pilot,  as  he  reached 
in  under  the  hood  of  the  craft  to  make  sure  about 
one  of  the  controls.  "Why,  you  ought  to  know 
by  this  time  that  I  wouldn't  go  up  if  it  wasn't 
safe!" 

"Oh,  yes,  I  know,  Tom.  It  may  be  all  right 
for  you,  but  I've  never  been  up  in  this  kind  of 
airship  before,  and  I  want  to  know  if  it's  safe  for 
me." 


2,  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

The  young  man  leaned  over  the  edge  of  the 
padded  cockpit,  and  clasped  in  his  rather  grimy 
hand  the  neatly  gloved  one  of  the  young  lady. 
And  though  the  glove  was  new,  and  fitted  the 
hand  perfectly,  there  was  no  attempt  to  with- 
draw it.  Instead,  the  young  lady  seemed  to  be 
very  glad  indeed  that  her  hand  was  in  such  safe 
keeping. 

"Mary!"  exclaimed  the  young  man,  "if  it 
wasn't  safe — as  safe  as  a  church — I  wouldn't 
dream  of  taking  you  up !"  and  at  the  mention  of 
"church"  Mary  Nestor  blushed  just  the  least  bit. 
Or  perhaps  it  was  that  the  prospective  excitement 
of  the  moment  caused  the  blood  to  surge  into  her 
cheeks.  Have  it  as  you  will. 

"Come,  Mary!  you're  not  going  to  back  out 
the  last  minute,  are  you?"  asked  Tom  Swift. 
"Everything  is  all  right.  I've  made  a  trial  flight, 
and  you've  seen  me  come  down  as  safely  as  a 
bird.  You  promised  to  go  up  with  me.  I  won't 
4jo  very  high  if  you  don't  like  it,  but  my  expe- 
rience has  been  that,  once  you're  off  the  ground, 
it  doesn't  make  any  difference  how  high  you  go. 
Vou'll  find  it  very  fascinating.  So  skip  along 
to  the  house,  and  Mrs.  Baggert  will  help  you 
get  into  your  togs." 

"Shall  I  have  to  wear  all  those  things — such 
*s  you  have  on?"  asked  Mary,  blushing  again. 

"Well,  you'll  be  more  comfortable  in  a  fur- 


A  SKY  RIDE  3 

fined  leather  suit,"  asserted  Tom.  "And  if  it 
does  make  you  look  like  an  Eskipo,  why  I'm  sure 
it  will  be  very  becoming.  Not  that  you  don't 
look  nice  now,"  he  hastened  to  assure  Miss  Nes- 
tor, "but  an  aviation  suit  will  be  very — well, 
fetching,  I  should  say." 

"If  I  could  be  sure  it  would  'fetch*  me  back 
safe,  Tom " 

"That'll  do!  That'll  do!"  laughed  the  young 
aviator.  "One  joke  like  that  is  enough  in  a 
morning.  It  was  pretty  good,  though.  Now  go 
on  in  and  tog  up." 

"You're  sure  it's  safe,  Tom?" 

"Positive!  Trot  along  now.  I  want  to  fix  a 
wire  and " 

"Oh,  is  anything  broken?"  and  the  girl,  who 
had  started  away  from  the  aeroplane,  turned  back 
again. 

"No,  not  broken.  It's  only  a  little  auxiliary 
dingus  I  put  on  to  make  it  easier  to  read  the 
barograph,  but  I  think  I'll  go  back  to  the  old 
system.  Nothing  to  do  with  flying  at  all,  except 
to  tell  how  high  up  one  is." 

"That's  just  what  I  don't  care  to  know,  Tom," 
said  Mary  Nestor,  with  a  smile.  "If  I  could 
imagine  I  was  sailing  along  only  about  ten  feet 
in  the  air  I  wouldn't  mind  so  much." 

"Flying  at  that  height  would  be  the  worst  sort 
of  danger.  You  kave  it  to  me,  Mary.  I  won't 


g  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT. 

take  you  up  above  the  clouds  on  this  sky  ride; 
though,  later,  I'm  sure  you'll  want  to  try  that, 
iThis  is  only  a  little  flight.  You've  been  promis- 
ing long  enough  to  take  a  trip  with  me,  and  now 
I  believe  you're  trying  to  back  out." 

"No,  really  I'm  not,  Tom!  Only,  at  the  last 
minute,  the  machine  looks  so  small  and  frail,  and 
the  sky  is  so — big " 

She  glanced  up  and  seemed  to  shiver  just  a 
trifle. 

"Don't  be  thinking  of  those  things,  Mary!" 
laughed  Tom  Swift.  "Trot  along  and  get  ready. 
The  motor  never  worked  better,  and  we  may 
break  a  few  speed  records  this  morning.  No 
traffic  cops  to  stop  us,  either,  as  there  might  be 
if  we  were  in  an  auto. 

"There  you  go,  Mary!"  exclaimed  Tom,  as  if 
struck  with  a  new  thought.  "You've  ridden  in 
an  auto  with  me  many  a  time,  and  you  never, 
;were  a  bit  afraid,  though  we  were  in  more  dan- 
ger than  we'll  be  this  morning." 

"Danger,  Tom,  in  an  auto?    How?" 

"Why,  danger  of  a  wheel  collapsing  as  we 
were  going  full  speed;  or  the  steering  knuckle 
breaking  and  sending  us  into  a  tree;  danger  of 
running  into  a  stone  wall  or  a  ditch;  danger  of 
some  one  running  into  us,  or  of  us  running  into 
some  one  else.  [There  isn't  one  of  these  dangers 
on  a  sky  ride." 


A  SKY  RIDE  9 

"No,"  said  Mary  slowly.  "But  there's  the 
danger  of  falling." 

"One  against  twenty.  That's  the  safety  mar- 
gin. And,  if  we  do  fall,  it  will  be  like  landing 
in  a  feather  bed !  There,  don't  wait  any  longer, 
po  and  get  ready." 

Mary  sighed,  and  then,  seeming  to  summon  her 
nerve  to  her  aid,  she  smiled  brightly,  waved  he? 
hand  to  Tom,  and  hastened  toward  his  home, 
Jwhere  Mrs.  Baggert  the  matronly  housekeeper, 
was  waiting  to  help  the  girl  attire  herself  in  a 
flying-suit  of  leather. 

Mary  Nestor,  who  had  a  very  warm  place  in 
Jhe  heart  of  Tom  Swift,  had,  as  he  stated,  some 
time  since  promised  to  take  a  trip  in  the  air  with 
the  young  inventor.  But  she  had  kept  putting  it 
off,  for  one  reason  or  another,  until  Tom  began 
to  despair  of  ever  getting  her  to  accompany  him. 
fTo-day,  however,  when  she  had  called  to  inquire 
about  his  father,  who  had  been  slightly  ill,  Tom 
had,  after  the  social  visit,  insisted  on  the  promise 
jbeing  kept. 

He  had  his  mechanic  get  out  one  of  the  safest, 
though  a  speedy,  double  machine,  and,  with  Mary 
to  watch,  Tom  had  taken  a  trial  flight,  just  to 
show  her  how  easy  it  was.  It  was  not  the  first 
time  she  had  seen  him  take  to  the  air,  but  now 
she  watched  with  different  emotions,  for  she  was 
yitally  interested. 


6  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

Tom  had  sailed  down  from  aloft,  making  a 
landing  in  the  aviation  field  he  had  constructed 
near  his  home,  and  then  he  had  insisted  that  Mary 
should  keep  her  promise  to  take  a  sky  ride  with 
him. 

"Don't  be  too  long  now!"  called  Tom  to  the 
girl,  as  she  hurried  toward  the  house.  "Never 
mind  about  your  hair,  or  whether  your  hat's  on 
straight.  You're  going  to  wear  a  cap,  anyhow, 
and  tuck  your  hair  up  under  that.  It's  hot  down 
here,  but  it  will  be  cold  up  above;  so  tell  Mrs. 
Baggert  to  see  that  you're  warmly  dressed." 

"All  right,"  and  gaily  she  waved  her  hand  to 
him.  Now  that  she  had  made  her  decision,  and 
was  really  going  up,  she  was  not  half  so  fright* 
ened  as  she  had  been  in  the  contemplation  of  it^ 

As  Tom  climbed  out  of  the  machine,  to  give  it 
a  careful  inspection,  though  he  was  certain  there 
was  nothing  wrong,  an  aged  colored  man  shuffled 
toward  him. 

"Yo' — yo'll  be  mighty  careful  ob  Miss  Nestor 
now,  won't  yo',  Massa  Tom  ?"  asked  the  man. 

"Of  course  I  will,  Eradicate,"  was  the  young 
inventor's  answer. 

"Case  we  ain't  got  many  laik  her  no  mo',  an* 
dat's  de  truf,  Massa  Tom,"  went  on  the  old  man. 
"So  be  mighty  careful  laik !" 

"That's  what  I  will,  Rad!  And,  while  I'm  up 
Jn  the  air,  don't  you  and  Koku  have  any  trouble,'* 


A  SKY  RIDE  J 

"Ho!  Trouble  wif  dat  onery  no-'count  giant! 
I  guess  not!"  and  the  colored  man  limped  off, 
highly  indignant. 

Satisfied,  from  an  inspection  of  his  machine, 
that  it  was  as  nearly  mechanically  perfect  as  it 
was  possible  to  be,  Tom  Swift  finished  his  trip 
around  it  and  stood  near  the  big  propeller,  wait- 
ing for  Mary  Nestor  to  reappear.  Presently  she 
did  so,  and  Tom  gaily  waved  his  hand  to  her. 

"You're  a  picture !"  he  cried,  as  he  saw  how 
particularly  "fetching"  she  looked  in  the  avia- 
tor's costume  which  was  like  his  own.  Because 
of  the  danger  of  entanglement,  Miss  Nestor  had 
doffed  her  skirts,  and  wore  the  costume  of  all 
aviators — men  and  women. 

"I  wish  I  had  my  camera !"  cried  Tom.  "You 
look — stunning !" 

"I  hope  that  isn't  any  comment  on  how  I'm 
going  to  feel  if  we  have  to  make  a — forced  land- 
ing, I  believe  you  call  it,"  she  retorted. 

"Oh,  I'll  take  care  of  that!"  exclaimed  Tom. 
"Now  up  you  go,  and  we'll  start,"  and  he  helped 
her  to  climb  into  the  padded  seat  of  the  cockpit, 
behind  where  he  was  to  sit. 

"Oh,  Tom!  Don't  be  in  such  a  hurry!"  ex- 
postulated Mary.  "Let  me  get  my  breath !" 

"No!"  laughed  the  young  inventor.  "If  I  did 
you  might  back  out.  Get  in,  fasten  the  strap 
around  you  and  sit  still  That's  all  you  have  to 


8  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

do.  Don't  be  afraid,  I'll  be  very  careful.  And 
don't  try  to  yell  at  me  to  go  slower  or  lower 
once  we're  up  in  the  air." 

"Why  not  ?"  Mary  wanted  to  know,  as  she  set- 
tled herself  in  her  seat. 

"Because  I  can't  very  well  hear  you,  or  talk 
to  you.  The  motor  makes  so  much  noise,  you 
know.  We  can,  do  a  little  talking  through  this 
speaking  tube,"  and  he  indicated  one,  "but  it  isn't 
very  satisfactory.  So  if  you  have  anything  to 
say " 

"In  the  language  of  the  poets/'  interrupted 
Mary,  "if  I  have  words  to  spill,  prepare  to  spill 
them  now.  Well,  I  haven't!  Now  I'm  here,  go 
ahead!  I  shall  probably  be  too  frightened  to 
talk,  anyhow." 

"Oh,  no  you  won't — after  the  first  little  sen- 
sation," Tom  assured  her.  "You'll  be  crazy  about 
it.  Come  on,  Jackson!"  he  called  to  the  mecha- 
nician. "Start  the  ball  rolling!" 

Tom  was  in  his  place,  his  goggles  and  cap  well 
down  over  his  face,  and  he  was  adjusting  the 
switch  as  the  mechanic  prepared  to  spin  the  pro- 
pellers. 

Suddenly  a  man  came  running  from  the  Swift 
house,  waving  his  arms  not  unlike  the  blades  of 
an  aircraft  propeller.  He  also  shouted,  but  Tom, 
whose  ears  were  covered  with  his  fur  cap,  could 
not  hear.  However,  Jackson  did,  and  stopped 


A  SKY  RIDE  g 

Whirling  the  blades,  turning  about  to  see  what 
was  wanted. 

"Why,  it's  Mr.  Damon!"  exclaimed  Tom,  as 
he  caught  sight  of  the  excited  man.  "Hello, 
what's  the  matter?"  the  youth  asked,  pulling  aside 
one  flap  of  his  head-covering  so  he  might  hear 
the  answer. 

"Tom!  Wait  a  minute!  Bless  my  mouse 
trap!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Damon,  "I  want  to  speak 
to  you!"  He  was  panting  from  his  run  across 
the  field.  "I  just  got  to  your  house — saw  your 
father — he  said  you  were  going  up  with  Miss 
Nestor,  but — bless  my  dog  biscuit " 

"Can't  stop  now,  Mr.  Damon !"  answered  Tom, 
with  a  laugh.  "I  have  only  just  succeeded,  by 
hard  work,  in  getting  Mary  to  a  point  where  she 
has  consented  to  take  a  sky  ride.  If  I  stop  now 
she'll  back  out  and  I'll  never  get  her  in  again. 
See  you  when  I  come  back,"  and  Tom  pulled  the 
covering  over  his  ear  once  more. 

"But,  Tom,  bless  my  shoe  laces !  This  is  im- 
portant!" 

"So's  this!"  answered  Tom,  with  a  grin.  He 
saw,  by  the  motion  of  Mr.  Damon's  lips,  what 
the  latter  had  said. 

Around  swung  the  propeller  blades.  The  gaso- 
line vapor  in  the  cylinders  was  being  compressed. 

"Contact!"  called  Tom  sharply,  as  he  pressed 
the  switch  to  give  the  igniting  spark  at  the  proper 


10  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

moment.  The  mechanic  had  stepped  back  out  of 
the  way,  in  case  there  should  be  a  premature 
starting  of  the  powerful  engine,  in  which  event 
the  blades  would  have  cut  him  to  pieces. 

"Wait,  Tom!  Wait!  This  is  very  important! 
Bless  my  collar  button,  Tom  Swift,  but  this 

Bang !    Bang !    Bang ! 

With  a  series  of  explosi  ^s,  like  those  of  a 
machine  gun,  the  motor  started,  and  further  talk 
was  out  of  the  question.  Tom  turned  on  more 
gas.  The  propellers  became  almost  invisible 
blades  of  light  and  shadow,  and  the  aeroplane 
began  moving  over  the  grassy  field.  The  me- 
chanic had  sprung  out  of  the  way,  pulling  Mr. 
Damon  with  him. 

"Come  back!  Come  back!  Wait  a  minute, 
Tom  Swift!  Bless  my  pansy  blossoms,  I  want 
to  tell  you  something !"  cried  the  little  man. 

But  Tom  Swift  was  away  and  out  of  hearing. 
He  had  started  on  his  sky  ride  with  Mary  Nestor, 


CHAPTER  II 

A   NEW   IDEA 

ANY  one  who  has  taken  a  flight  in  an  aeroplane 
or  gone  up  in  a  ba?ix>n,  will  know  exactly  how 
Mary  Nestor  felt  on  this,  her  first  sky  ride  of 
any  distance.  For  a  moment,  as  she  looked  over 
the  side  of  the  machine,  she  had  a  distinct 
impression,  not  that  she  was  going  up,  but  that 
some  one  had  pulled  the  earth  down  from  beneath 
her  and,  at  the  same  time,  given  her  a  shove  off 
into  space.  Such  is  the  first  sensation  of  going 
aloft.  Then  the  rush  of  air  all  about  her,  the 
slightly  swaying  motion  of  the  craft,  and  the  vi- 
bration caused  by  the  motor  took  her  attention. 
But  the  sensation  of  the  earth  dropping  away 
from  beneath  her  remained  with  Mary  for  some 
time. 

This  sensation  is  much  greater  in  a  balloon 
than  in  an  aeroplane,  for  a  balloon,  unless  there 
is  a  strong  wind  blowing,  goes  straight  up,  while 
an  aeroplane  ascends  on  a  long  slant,  and  always 
into  the  teeth  of  the  wind,  to  take  advantage  of 

ii 


12  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

its  lifting  power  on  the  underside  of  the  planes. 

The  reason  for  this  sensation — that  of  the 
earth's  dropping  down,  instead  of  one's  feeling, 
what  really  happens,  that  one  is  ascending — is 
Jbecause  there  are  no  objects  by  which  compari- 
son can  be  made.  If  one  starts  off  on  the  earth's 
surface  at  slow,  or  at  great  speed,  one  passes 
stationary  objects — houses,  posts,  trees,  and  the 
like — and  judges  the  speed  by  the  rapidity  with 
which  these  are  left  behind. 

Going  up  is  unlike  this.  There  is  nothing  to 
pass.  One  simply  cleaves  the  air,  and  only  as  it 
rushes  past  can  one  be  sure  of  movement.  And  as 
the  air  is  void  of  color  and  form,  there  is  no  sen- 
sation of  passing  anything. 

So  Mary  Nestor,  as  she  shot  into  the  air  with 
{Tom  Swift,  had  a  sensation  as  though  the  earth 
yrere  dropping  from  beneath  her.  For  a  moment 
she  felt  as  though  she  were  in  some  vast  void — • 
floating  in  space — and  she  had  a  great  fear.  Then 
she  calmed  herself.  She  looked  at  Tom  sitting  in 
front  of  her.  Of  course,  all  she  could  see  was 
his  back,  but  it  looked  to  be  a  very  sturdy  back, 
indeed,  and  he  sat  there  in  the  aircraft  as  calmly 
as  though  in  a  chair  on  the  ground.  Then  Mary 
took  courage,  and  ceased  to  grasp  the  sides  of 
the  cockpit  with  a  grip  that  stiffened  all  her  mus- 
cles. She  was  beginning  to  "find  herself/' 

On  and  on,  and  up  and  up,  went  Mary  and 


A  NEW  IDEA  IJ 

Tom,  in  this  the  girl's  first  big  sky  ride.  The 
earth  below  seemed  farther  and  farther  away. 
[The  wide,  green  fields  became  little  emerald 
squares,  and  the  houses  like  those  in  a  toy  Noah's 
ark. 

Down  below,  Mr.  Wakefield  Damon,  who  had 
hurried  over  from  his  home  in  Waterfield  to  see 
Tom  Swift,  gazed  aloft  at  the  T^st  disappearing 
aeroplane  and  its  passengers. 

"Bless  my  coal  bin !"  cried  the  eccentric  man, 
"but  Tom  is  in  a  hurry  this  morning.  Too  bad 
he  couldn't  have  stopped  and  spoken  to  me.  It 
might  have  been  greatly  to  his  advantage.  But 
I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  wait." 

"You  want  to  see  Master?"  asked  a  voice  be- 
hind Mr.  Damon,  and,  turning,  he  beheld  a  veri- 
table giant. 

"Yes,  Koku,  I  did,"  Mr.  Damon  answered,  and 
he  did  not  appear  at  all  surprised  at  the  sight  of 
the  towering  form  beside  him.  "I  wanted  to  see 
Tom  most  particularly.  But  I  shall  have  to  wait. 
I'll  go  in  and  talk  to  Mr.  Swift." 

"Yaas,  an'  I  go  talk  to  Radicate,"  said  the 
giant.  "Him  diggin'  up  ground  wherx.  Master 
told  me  to  make  garden.  Radicate  not  strong 
enough  for  dat!" 

"Huh !  there's  trouble  as  soon  as  those  two  get 
to  disputing,"  mused  Mr*  Damon,  as  he  went  to- 
ward the  house. 


14  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

Meanwhile,  Mary  was  beginning  to  enjoy  her- 
self. The  sensation  of  moving  rapidly  through 
the  air  in  a  machine  as  skilfully  guided  as  was  the 
one  piloted  by  Tom  Swift  was  delightful.  Up 
and  up  they  went,  and  then  suddenly  Mary  felt 
a  lurch,  and  the  plane,  which  was  now  about  a 
thousand  feet  high,  seemed  to  slip  to  one  side. 

Mary  screamed,  and  began  reaching  for  the 
buckle  of  the  safety  belt  that  fastened  her  to  her 
seat.  She  saw  that  something  unusual  had  oc- 
curred, for  Tom  was  working  frantically  at  the 
mechanism  in  front  of  him. 

But,  in  spite  of  this,  he  seemed  aware  that 
Mary  was  in  danger,  not  so  much,  perhaps,  from 
what  might  happen  to  the  machine,  as  what  she 
might  do  in  her  terror. 

"Oh!  Oh!"  cried  the  girl,  and  Tom  heard  her 
above  the  terrific  noise  of  the  motor,  for  she 
was  speaking  with  her  lips  close  to  the  tube  that 
served  as  a  sort  of  inter-communicating  tele- 
phone for  the  craft.  "Oh,  we  are  falling!  I'm 
going  to  jump !" 

"Sit  still!  Sit  still  for  your  life!"  cried  Tom 
Swift.  "I'll  save  you  all  right!  Only  sit  still! 
Don't  jump!" 

Mary,  her  red  cheeks  white,  sank  back,  and 
the  young  inventor  redoubled  his  efforts  at  the 
controls  and  other  mechanisms. 

And  that  Tom  was  perfectly  qualified  to  make 


A  NEW  IDEA  15 

a  safe  landing,  even  with  engine  trouble,  Mary 
Nestor  well  knew.  Those  of  you  who  have  read 
the  previous  books  of  this  series  know  it  also, 
but,  for  the  benefit  of  my  new  readers,  I  shall 
state  that  this  was  by  no  means  Tom's  first  ride 
in  an  aeroplane. 

He  had  operated  and  built  gasoline  engines 
ever  since  he  was  about  sixteen  years  old.  As 
related  in  the  initial  volume  of  this  series,  en- 
titled, 'Tom  Swift  and  His  Motorcycle/'  he  be- 
came possessed  of  this  machine  after  it  had  started 
to  climb  a  tree  with  Mr.  Damon  on  board.  After 
that  experience  the  eccentric  man — blessing  every- 
thing he  could  think  of — had  no  liking  for  the 
speedy  motorcycle  and  sold  it  to  Tom  at  a  low 
price. 

That  was  the  beginning  of  a  friendship  be- 
tween the  two,  and  also  started  Tom  on  his  ca- 
reer as  an  inventor  and  a  possessor  of  many 
gasoline  craft.  For  he  was  not  content  with 
merely  riding  the  repaired  motorcycle.  He  made 
improvements  on  it. 

Tom  lived  with  his  father  in  the  town  of 
Shopton,  their  home  being  looked  after,  since 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Swift,  by  Mrs.  Baggert.  Mr. 
Wakefield  Damon  lived  in  the  neighboring  town 
of  Waterfield,  and  spent  much  time  at  Tom's 
home,  often  going  on  trips  with  him  in  various 
vehicles  of  the  land,  sea  or  air. 


16          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

As  related  in  the  various  volumes  of  this  se- 
ries, Tom  was  not  content  to  remain  on  earth. 
He  built  a  speedy  motor  boat,  and  then  secured 
an  airship,  following  that  with  a  submarine.  He 
also  made  an  electric  runabout  that  was  the  speed- 
iest car  on  the  road.  Sending  wireless  messages, 
having  thrilling  experiences  among1  the  diamond 
makers,  journeying  to  the  caves  of  ice,  and  mak- 
ing perilous  trips  in  his  sky  racer  took  up  part  of 
the  young  inventor's  time. 

With  his  electric  rifle  he  did  some  wonderful 
shooting,  and  in  the  "City  of  Gold"  made  some 
strange  discoveries,  part  of  the  fortune  he  se- 
cured enabling  him  to  build  his  sky  racer.  It  was 
in  a  land  of  giants  that  Tom  was  made  captive, 
Jbut  he  succeeded  in  escaping,  and  brought  two 
giants,  of  whom  Koku  was  one,  away  with  him. 

Following  this  achievement  Tom  invented  a 
wizard  camera  and  a  great  searchlight,  which, 
with  his  giant  cannon,  was  purchased  by  the 
United  States  Government.  Work  on  his  photo- 
telephone  and  his  aerial  warship,  the  problem  of 
digging  a  big  tunnel,  and  then  traveling  to  the 
land  of  wonders,  kept  Tom  Swift  very  busy,  and 
he  had  just  completed  a  wonderful  piece  of  work 
when  the  present  story  opens. 

This  last  achievement  was  the  perfecting  of  a 
machine  to  aid  in  the  great  World  War  and  you 
will  find  the  details  set  down  in  the  volume  which 


A  NEW  IDEA  i% 

immediately  precedes  this.  "Tom  Swift  and  His 
War  Tank,"  it  is  called,  and  in  that  is  related 
how  he  not  only  invented  a  marvelous  machine, 
but  succeeded  in  keeping  its  secret  from  the  plot- 
ters who  tried  to  take  it  from  him.  In  this  Tom 
was  helped  by  the  inspiration  of  Mary  Nestor, 
whom  he  hoped  some  day  to  marry,  and  by  Ned 
Newton,  a  chum,  who,  though  no  inventor  him- 
self, could  admire  one. 

Ned  and  Tom  had  been  chums  a  long  while, 
but  Ned  inclined  more  to  financial  and  office 
matters  than  to  machinery.  At  times  he  had 
managed  affairs  for  Tom,  and  helped  him  finance 
projects.  Ned  was  now  an  important  bank  offi- 
cial, and  since  the  United  States  had  entered  the 
war  had  had  charge  of  some  Red  Cross  work, 
as  well  as  Liberty  Bond  campaigns. 

Somehow,  as  she  sat  there  in  the  craft  whicli 
seemed  disabled,  Marj  Nestor  could  not  help 
thinking  of  Tom's  many  activities,  in  some  of 
which  she  had  shared. 

"Oh,  if  he  falls  now,  and  is  killed!"  she 
thought.  "Oh,  what  will  happen  to  us  ?" 

"It's  all  right,  Mary!  Don't  worry!  It's  all 
right!"  cried  Tom,  through  the  speaking  tube. 

"What's  that?  I  can't  hear  you  very  well!" 
she  called  back. 

"No  wonder,  with  the  racket  this  motor  is 
making,"  he  answered.  "Why  can't  something 


18  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

be  done  so  you  can  talk  in  an  aeroplane  as  well 
as  in  a  balloon?  That's  an  idea!  If  I  could  tell 
you  what  was  the  matter  now  you  wouldn't  be  a 
bit  frightened,  for  it  isn't  anything.  But,  as  it 

"What  are  you  saying,  Tom?  I  can't  hear 
you!"  cried  Mary,  still  much  frightened. 

"I  say  it's  all  right — don't  get  scared.  And 
(don't  jump !"  Tom  shouted  until  his  ears  buzzed. 
"It's  all  nonsense — having  a  motor  making  so 
much  noise  one  can't  talk!"  he  went  on,  irritat- 
edly. 

A  strange  idea  had  come  to  the  young  inven- 
tor, but  there  was  no  time  to  think  of  it  now. 
Mentally  he  registered  a  vow  to  take  up  this 
idea  and  work  on  it  as  soon  as  possible.  But, 
just  now,  the  aeroplane  needed  all  his  attention. 

As  he  had  told  Mary,  there  was  really  nothing 
approaching  any  great  danger.  But  it  was  rather 
an  anxious  moment.  If  Tom  had  been  alone  he 
would  have  thought  little  of  it,  but  with  Mary 
along  he  felt  a  double  responsibility. 

What  had  happened  was  that  the  craft  had 
suddenly  gone  into  an  "air  pocket"  or  partial 
vacuum,  and  there  had  been  a  sudden  fall  and  a 
slide  slip.  In  trying  to  stop  this  too  quickly  Tom 
had  broken  one  of  his  controls,  and  he  was  busily 
engaged  in  putting  an  auxiliary  one  in  place  and 
trying  to  reassure  Mary  at  the  same  time, 


A  NEW  IDEA  19 

"But  it's  mighty  hard  trying  to  do  that  through 
a  speaking  tube  with  a  motor  making  a  noise  like 
a  boiler  factory,"  mused  the  young  inventor. 

Tom  worked  quickly  and  to  good  purpose.  In 
a  few  moments,  though  to  Mary  they  seemed  like 
hours,  the  machine  was  again  gliding  along  on 
a  level  keel,  and  Tom  breathed  more  easily. 

"And  now  for  my  great  idea!"  he  told  him* 
self. 

But  it  was  some  time  before  he  could  give  hit 
attention  to  that. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  BIG  OFFER 

WORKING  with  all  the  skill  he  possessed,  Tom 
had  got  the  aeroplane  in  proper  working  order 
again.  As  has  been  said,  the  accident  was  a 
trivial  one,  and  had  he  been  alone,  or  with  an 
experienced  aviator,  he  would  have  thought  little 
of  it.  Then,  very  likely,  he  would  have  volplaned 
to  earth  and  made  the  repairs  there.  But  he  did 
not  want  to  frighten  Mary  Nestor,  so  he  fixed 
the  control  while  gliding  along,  and  made  light 
of  it.  Thus  his  passenger  was  reassured. 

"Are  we  all  right?"  asked  Mary  through  the 
tube,  as  they  sailed  along. 

"Right  as  a  fiddle/'  answered  Tom,  shouting 
through  the  same  means  of  communication. 

"What's  that  about  a  riddle?"  asked  Mary,  in 
surprise  at  his  seeming  flippancy  at  such  a  time. 

"I  didn't  say  anything  about  a  riddle — I  said 
we  are  as  fit  as  a  fiddle!"  cried  Tom.  "Never 
mind.  No  use  trying  to  talk  with  the  racket  this 
motor  makes,  and  it  isn't  the  noisiest  of  its  kind, 

20 


THE  BIG  OFFER  21 

either.  I'll  tell  you  when  we  get  down.  Do  you 
like  it?" 

"Yes,  I  like  it  better  than- 1  did  at  first,"  an- 
swered Mary,  for  she  had  managed  to  under- 
stand the  last  of  Tom's  questions.  Then  he  sailed 
a  little  higher,  circled  about,  and,  a  little  later, 
not  to  get  Mary  too  tired  and  anxious,  he  headed 
for  his  landing  field. 

"I'll  take  you  home  in  the  auto,"  he  cried  to  his 
passenger.  "We  could  go  up  to  your  house  this 
way — in  style — if  there  was  a  field  near  by  large 
enough  to  land  in.  But  there  isn't.  So  it  will 
have  to  be  a  plain,  every-day  auto." 

"That's  good  enough  for  me,"  said  Mary. 
"Though  this  trip  is  wonderful — glorious!  I'll 
go  again  any  time  you  ask  me." 

"Well,  I'll  ask  you,"  said  Tom.  "And  when  I 
do  maybe  it  won't  be  so  hard  to  hold  a  conver- 
sation. It  will  be  more  like  this,"  and  he  shut 
off  the  motor  and  began  to  glide  gently  down. 
[The  quiet  succeeding  the  terrific  noise  of  the 
motor  exhaust  was  almost  startling,  and  Tom  and 
Mary  could  converse  easily  without  using  the 
tube. 

Then  followed  the  landing  on  the  soft,  springy 
turf,  a  little  glide  over  the  ground,  and  the  ma- 
chine came  to  a  halt,  while  mechanics  ran  out 
of  the  hangar  to  take  charge  of  it. 

"I'll  just  go  in  and  change  these  togs,"  said 


22  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

Mary,  as  she  alighted  and  looked  at  her  leather 
costume. 

"No,  don't,"  advised  Tom.  "You  look  swell 
in  'em.  Keep  'em  on.  They're  yours,  and  you'll 
need  'em  when  we  go  up  again.  Here  comes  the 
auto.  I'll  take  you  right  home  in  it.  Keep  the 
aviation  suit  on. 

"I  wonder  what  Mr.  Damon  could  have 
wanted,"  remarked  Tom,  as  he  drove  Mary  along 
the  country  road. 

"He  seemed  very  much,  excited,"  she  replied. 

"Oh,  he  almost  always  is  that  way — blessing 
everything  he  can  think  of.  You  know  that.  But 
this  time  it  was  different,  I'll  admit.  I  hope  noth- 
ing is  the  matter.  I  might  have  stopped  and 
spoken  to  him,  but  I  was  afraid  if  I  did  you'd 
back  out  and  wouldn't  come  for  a  sky  ride." 

"Well,  I  might  have.  But  now  that  I've  had 
one,  even  with  an  accident  thrown  in,  I'll  go  any 
time  you  ask  me,  Tom,"  and  Mary  smiled  at  the 
young  inventor. 

"Shucks,  that  wasn't  a  real  accident!"  he 
laughed.  "But  I  do  wonder  what  Mr.  Damon 
wanted." 

"Better  go  back  and  find  out,  Tom,"  advised 
Mary,  as  they  stopped  in  front  of  her  house. 

"Oh,  I  want  to  come  in  and  talk  to  you, 
Haven't  had  a  chance  for  a  good  talk  to-daj*  > 
that  motor  made  such  a  racket." 


THE  BIG  OFFER  23 

"No,  go  along  now,  but  come  back  and  see  me 
this  afternoon  if  you  like." 

"I  do  like,  all  right!  And  I  suppose  Mr.  Da- 
mon will  be  fussing  until  he  sees  me.  Well,  glad 
you  liked  your  first  ride  in  the  air,  Mary — that 
is,  the  first  one  of  any  account,"  for  Mary  had 
been  in  an  aeroplane  before,  though  only  up  a 
little  way — a  sort  of  "grass-cutting  stunt,"  Tom 
called  it. 

Waving  farewell  to  the  pretty  girl,  the  young 
aviator  turned  the  auto  about  and  speeded  for 
his  home  and  the  shops  adjoining  it.  His  father 
had  not  been  well,  of  late,  and  Tom  was  a  bit 
anxious  about  him. 

"Mr.  Damon  may  bother  him,  though  he 
wouldn't  mean  to,"  thought  Tom.  "He  seemed 
to  have  his  mind  filled  with  some  new  idea.  I 
wonder  if  it  is  anything  like  mine?  No,  it 
couldn't  be.  Well,  I'll  soon  find  out,"  and,  put- 
ting his  foot  on  the  accelerator,  Tom  sent  the 
machine  along  at  a  pace  that  soon  brought  him 
within  sight  of  his  home. 

"Is  father  all  right?"  he  asked  Mrs.  Baggert, 
who  was  out  on  the  front  porch,  as  though  wait- 
ing for  him. 

"Oh,  yes,  Tom,  he's  all  right,"  the  housekeeper 
answered. 

"Is  Mr.  Damon  with  him?" 

"No." 


24  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"He  hasn't  gone  home,  has  he?" 

"No,  he's  around  somewhere.  But  some  ona 
else  is  with  your  father.  Some  visitors." 

"Any  relations?" 

"No;  strangers.  They  came  to  see  you,  and 
they're  rather  impatient.  I  came  out  to  see  if  you 
were  in  sight.  Your  father  sent  me." 

"Are  they  bothering  him — talking  business  that 
I  ought  to  attend  to  when  he's  ill?  That  mustn't 
be." 

"Well,  I  suppose  it  is  business  that  the  strangers 
are  talking  over  with  your  father,  Tom,"  said 
Mrs.  Baggert,  "for  I  heard  sums  of  money  spoken 
of.  But  your  father  seems  to  be  all  right,  only 
a  trifle  anxious  that  you  should  come." 

"Well,  I'm  here  now  and  I'll  attend  to  things. 
[Where  are  the  strangers,  and  who  are  they?" 

"I  don't  know,"  answered  the  housekeeper.  "I 
never  saw  them  before,  but  they're  in  the  library 
with  your  father.  Do  you  think  they'll  stay  to 
dinner?  If  you  do,  I'll  have  Eradicate  or  Koku 
catch  and  kill  a  chicken." 

"If  you  let  one  do  it  don't  tell  the  other  about 
it,"  said  Tom  with  a  laugh,  "or  you'll  have  a 
chicken  race  around  the  yard  that  will  make  the 
visitors  sit  up  and  take  notice." 

There  was  great  rivalry  between  Eradicate 
Sampson,  the  aged  colored  man,  and  Koku,  the 
giant,  and  they  were  continually  disputing. 


THE  BIG  OFFER  35 

Each  one  loved  and  served  Tom  in  his  own  way, 
and  there  was  jealousy  between  them.  Koku,  the 
giant  Tom  had  brought  with  him  from  the  land 
where  the  young  inventor  had  been  made  cap- 
tive, was  a  big,  powerful  man,  and  could  do  things 
the  aged  colored  servant  could  not  attempt.  But 
"Rad,"  as  he  was  often  called,  and  his  mule 
"Boomerang"  had  long  been  fixtures  on  the  Swift 
homestead.  But  old  age  crept  on  apace  with 
Eradicate,  though  he  hated  to  admit  it,  and  Koku 
did  many  things  the  colored  man  had  formerly 
attended  to,  and  Rad  was  always  on  the  lookout 
not  to  be  supplanted.  Hence  Tom's  warning  to 
Mrs.  Baggert  about  letting  the  two  be  entrusted 
with  the  same  mission  of  catching  a  chicken  for 
the  pot. 

"Better  get  the  fowl  yourself  and  say  nothing 
to  either  of  them  about  it,"  Tom  advised  the 
housekeeper.  "Mr.  Damon  will  stay  to  dinner, 
as  he  always  does  when  he  comes,  and  as  it's  near 
twelve  now,  and  as  I  may  be  delayed  talking 
business  to  these  strangers,  you'd  better  get  up 
a  bigger  meal  than  usual." 

"I  will,  Tom,"  promised  Mrs.  Baggert.  And 
then  the  young  inventor,  having  seen  that  one  of 
the  men  took  the  automobile  to  the  garage,  went 
into  the  house. 

"Oh,  here  you  are !"  was  his  father's  greeting, 
as  he  came  out  into  the  hall  from  the  library. 


26  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"I've  been  waiting  anxiously  for  you,  my  boy.  I 
couldn't  think  what  was  keeping  you." 

"Oh,  I  had  a  little  trouble  with  the  air  machine 
— nothing  serious." 

A  moment  later  Tom  was  standing  before  twG 
well-dressed,  prosperous-looking  business  men 
who  smiled  pleasantly  at  him. 

"Mr.  Thomas  Swift?"  interrogated  one,  the 
elder,  as  he  held  out  his  hand. 

"That's  my  name,"  answered  Tom,  pleasantly. 

"I'm  Peton  Gale,  and  this  gentleman  is  Boland 
Ware,"  went  on  the  man  who  had  taken  Tom's 
hand.  "I'm  president  and  he's  treasurer  of  the 
Universal  Flying  Machine  Company,  of  New 
York." 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Tom,  as  he  shook  hands  with 
Mr.  Ware.  "I  have  heard  of  your  concern.  You 
are  doing  a  lot  of  government  work,  are  you 
not?" 

"Yes ;  war  orders.  And  we're  up  to  our  neck 
in  them.  This  war  is  going  to  be  almost  as  much 
fought  in  the  air  as  on  the  ground,  Mr.  Swift." 

"I  can  well  believe  that,"  agreed  Tom.  "Won't 
you  have  a  chair?" 

"Well,  we  didn't  come  to  stay  long,"  said  Mr. 
Gale  with  a  laugh,  which,  somehow  or  other, 
grated  on  Tom  and  seemed  to  him  insincere. 
"Our  business  is  such  a  rushing  one  that  we  don't 
spend  much  time  anywhere.  To  get  down  to 


THE  BIG  OFFER  27 

brass  tacks,  we  have  come  to  see  you  to  put  a 
certain  proposition  before  you,  Mr.  Swift.  You 
are  open  to  a  business  proposition,  aren't  you?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  answered  Tom.  "That's  what  I'm 
here  for." 

"I  thought  so.  Well,  now  I'll  tell  you,  in  brief, 
what  we  want,  and  then  Mr.  Ware,  our  treasurer, 
can  elaborate  on  it,  and  give  you  facts  and  figures 
about  which  I  never  bother  myself.  I  attend  to 
the  executive  end  and  leave  the  details  to  oth- 
ers," and  again  came  that  laugh  which  Tom  did 
not  like. 

"You  came  here  to  make  me  an  offer?"  asked 
the  young  inventor,  wondering  to  which  of  his 
many  machines  the  visitors  had  reference. 

"Yes,"  went  on  Mr.  Gale,  "we  came  here  to 
make  you  a  big  offer.  In  short,  Mr.  Swift,  we 
want  you  to  work  for  our  company,  and  we  are 
willing  to  pay  you  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year 
for  the  benefit  of  your  advice  and  your  inventive 
abilities.  Jen  thousand  dollars  a  year !  Do  you 
accept?" 


CHAPTER  IV 
MR.  DAMON'S  WHIZZER 

CHARACTERISTIC  it  was  of  Tom  Swift  that  he 
did  not  seem  at  all  surprised  at  what  most  young 
men  would  call  a  liberal  offer.  Certainly  not 
many  youths  of  Tom's  age  would  be  sought  out 
by  a  big  manufacturing  concern,  and  offered  ten 
thousand  dollars  a  year  "right  off  the  reel,"  as 
Ned  Newton  expressed  it  later.  But  Tom  only 
smiled  and  shook  his  head  in  negation. 

"What !"  cried  Mr.  Gale,  "you  mean  you  won't 
accept  our  offer?" 

"I  can't,"  answered  Tom. 

"You  can't!"  exclaimed  the  treasurer,  Mr. 
Ware.  "Oh,  I  see.  Mr.  Gale,  a  word  with  you. 
Excuse  us  a  moment,"  he  added  to  Tom  and  his 
father. 

The  two  men  consulted  in  a  corner  of  the  li- 
brary for  a  moment,  and  then,  with  smiles  on 
their  faces,  once  more  turned  toward  the  young 
inventor. 

,  perhaps  you  are  right,  Tom  Swift,"  said 
28 


MR.  DAMON'S  WHIZZER  2$ 

AT.  Gale.  "Of  course,  we  recognize  your  tal- 
ents and  ability,  but  you  cannot  blame  us  for 
trying  to  get  talent,  as  well  as  material  for  our 
airships,  in  the  cheapest  market.  But  we  are  not 
hide-bound,  nor  sticklers  for  any  set  sum.  We'll 
make  that  offer  fifteen  thousand  dollars  a  year,  if 
you  will  sign  a  five-year  contract  and  agree  that 
we  shall  have  first  claim  on  anything  and  every- 
thing you  may  patent  or  invent  in  that  time. 
Now,  how  does  that  strike  you?  Fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year — paid  weekly  if  you  wish,  and 
our  Mr.  Ware,  here,  has  a  form  of  contract  which 
can  be  fixed  up  and  signed  within  ten  minutes, 
if  you  agree." 

"Well,  I  don't  like  to  be  disagreeable,"  said 
Tom  with  a  smile ;  "but,  really,  as  I  said  before, 
€  can't  accept  your  very  kind  offer.  I  may  say 
liberal  offer.  I  appreciate  that." 

"You  can't  accept !"  cried  Mr.  Gale. 

"Are  you  sure  you  don't  mean  'won't'  ?"  asked 
Mr.  Ware,  in  a  half  growl. 

"You  may  call  it  that  if  you  like,"  replied  Tom, 
a  bit  coolly,  for  he  did  not  like  the  other's  tone, 
"Only,  as  I  say,  I  cannot  accept.  I  have  other 
plans." 

"Oh,  you "  began  the  brusk  treasurer,  but 

Mr.  Gale,  the  president  of  the  Universal  Flying 
Machine  Company,  stopped  his  associate  with  a 
warning  look. 


30          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"Just  a  moment,  Mr.  Swift,"  begged  the  presi- 
dent. "Don't  be  hasty.  We  are  prepared  to 
make  you  a  last  and  final  offer,  and  I  do  not  be- 
lieve you  can  refuse  it." 

"Well,  I  certainly  will  not  refuse  it  without 
hearing  it,"  said  Tom,  with  a  smile  he  meant  to 
make  good-natured.  Yet,  truth  to  tell,  he  did 
not  at  all  like  the  two  visitors.  There  was  some- 
thing about  them  that  aroused  his  antagonism,  and 
he  said  later  that  even  if  they  had  offered  him  a 
sum  which  he  felt  he  ought  not,  in  justice  to  him- 
self and  his  father,  refuse,  he  would  have  felt  a 
distaste  in  working  for  a  company  represented  by 
the  twain. 

"This  is  our  offer,"  said  Mr.  Gale,  and  he  spoke 
in  a  pompous  manner  which  seemed  to  say:  "K 
you  don't  take  it,  why,  it  will  be  the  worse  for 
you."  He  looked  at  his  treasurer  for  a  confirma- 
tory nod  and,  receiving  it,  went  on.  "We  are 
prepared  to  offer  and  pay  you,  and  will  enter 
into  such  a  contract,  with  the  stipulation  about 
the  inventions  that  I  mentioned  before — we  are 
prepared  to  pay  you — twenty  thousand  dollars  a 
year!  Now  what  do  you  say  to  that,  Tom 
Swift? 

"Twenty-thousand-dollars-a-year !"  repeated 
Mr.  Gale  unctiously,  rolling  the  words  off 
his  tongue.  "Twen-ty-thou-sand-dol-lars-a-year! 
Think  of  it!" 


MR.  DAMON'S  WH1ZZER  jf 

*I  am  thinking  of  it,"  said  Tom  Swift  gently, 
"and  I  thank  you  for  your  offer.  It  is,  indeed, 
very  generous.  But  I  must  give  you  the  same  an- 
swer. I  cannot  accept." 

"Tom!"  exclaimed  his  aged  father. 

"Mr.  Swift !"  exclaimed  the  two  visitors. 

Tom  smiled  and  shook  his  head. 

"Oh,  I  know  very  well  what  I  am  saying,  and 
what  I  am  turning  down,"  he  said.  "But  I  simply 
cannot  accept.  I  have  other  plans.  I  am  sorry 
you  have  had  your  trip  for  nothing,"  he  added  to 
the  visitors,  "but,  really,  I  must  refuse." 

"Is  that  your  final  answer?"  asked  Mr.  Gale. 

"Yes." 

"Don't  you  want  to  take  a  day  or  two  to  think 
it  over?"  asked  the  treasurer.  "Don't  be  hasty. 
Remember  that  very  few  young  men  can  com- 
mand that  salary,  and  I  may  say  you  will  find  us 
liberal  in  other  ways.  You  would  have  some  time 
to  yourself." 

"That  is  what  I  most  need,"  returned  Tom. 
"Time  to  myself.  No,  thank  you,  gentlemen,  I 
cannot  accept." 

"Be  careful !"  warned  Mr.  Gale,  and  it  sounded 
as  though  there  might  be  a  threat  in  his  voice. 
"This  is  our  last  offer,  and  your  last  chance.  We 
will  not  renew  this.  If  you  do  not  accept  our 
twenty  thousand  dollars  now,  you  will  never  get 
it  again." 


32          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"I  realize  that,"  said  Tom,  "and  I  am  pre- 
pared  to  take  the  consequences." 

"Very  well,  then,"  said  Mr.  Gale.  "There 
seems  nothing  for  us  to  do,  Mr.  Ware,  but  to  go 
back  to  New  York.  I  bid  you  good-day,"  and 
he  bowed  stiffly  to  Tom,  "I  hope  you  will  not 
regret  your  refusal  of  our  offer." 

"I  hope  so  myself,"  said  Tom,  lightly. 

When  the  visitors  had  gone  Mr.  Swift  turned 
toward  his  son,  and,  shaking  his  head,  remarked : 

"Of  course,  you  know  your  own  business  best, 
Tom.  Yet  I  cannot  but  feel  you  have  made  a 
mistake." 

"How?"  asked  Tom.  "By  not  taking  that 
money?  I  can  easily  make  that  in  a  year,  with 
an  idea  I  have  in  mind  for  an  improvement  on 
an  airship.  And  your  new  electric  motor  will 
soon  be  ready  for  the  market.  Besides,  we  don't 
really  need  the  money." 

"No,  not  now,  Tom,  but  there  is  no  telling 
when  we  may,"  said  Mr.  Swift,  slowly.  "This 
big  war  has  made  many  changes,  and  things  that 
brought  us  in  a  good  income  before,  hardly  sell 
at  all,  now." 

"Oh,  don't  worry,  Dad!  We  still  have  a  few 
shots  left  in  the  locker — in  other  words,  the  bank 
I'm  expecting  Ned  Newton  over  any  moment  now, 
to  give  us  the  annual  statement  of  our  account, 
and  then  we'll  know  where  we  stand.  I'm  not 


MR.  DAMON'S  WH1ZZER  33 

afraid  from  the  money  end.  Our  business  has 
done  iftll,  and  it  is  going  to  do  better.  I  have 
a  ne^jidea." 

it's  all  very  well,  Tom"  said  Mr.  Swift, 
who  seemed  oppressed  by  something.  "As  you 
say,  money  isn't  everything,  and  I  know  we  shall 
always  have  enough  to  live  on.  But  there  is  some- 
thing about  those  two  men  I  do  not  like.  They 
were  very  angry  at  your  refusal  of  their  offer. 
I  could  see  that.  Tom,  I  don't  want  to  be  a 
croaker,  but  I  think  you'll  have  to  watch  out  for 
those  men.  They're  going  to  be  your  enemies — 
your  rivals  in  the  airship  field,"  and  Mr.  Swift 
shook  his  head  dolefully. 

"Well,  rivalry,  when  it's  clean  and  above  board, 
is  the  spice  of  trade  and  invention,"  returned 
pTom,  lightly.  "I'm  not  afraid  of  that." 

"No,  but  it  may  be  unfair  and  underhand," 
said  Mr.  Swift.  "I  think  it  would  have  been 
better,  Tom,  to  have  accepted  their  offer. 
Jwenty  thousand  a  year,  clear  money,  is  a  good 
sum." 

"Yes,  but  I  may  make  twice  that  with  some- 
thing that  occurred  to  me  only  a  little  while  ago. 
Forget  about  those  men,  Dad,  and  I'll  tell  you 
my  new  idea.  But  wait,  I  want  Mr.  Damon  to 
hear  it,  too.  Where  is  he?" 

"He  was  here  a  little  while  ago.  He  went  out 
when  those  two  men  came  and-^- — " 


34  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCO 

At  that  moment,  from  the  garden  at  file  side 
of  the  library,  the  sound  of  voices  in  dispute  could 
be  heard. 

"Now  yo'  all  g'wan  'way  from  yeah!"  ex- 
claimed some  one  who  could  be  none  other  than 
Eradicate  Sampson.  "Whut  fo'  yo'  all  want  to 
clutter  up  dish  yeah  place  f  o'  ?  Massa  Tom  said 
I  was  to  do  de  garden  wuk,  an*  I'se  gwine  to  do 
it !  G'wan  'way,  Giant !" 

"Ho!  You  want  me  to  get  out,  s'pose  you  put 
me,  black  face !"  cried  a  big  voice,  that  of  Koku, 
the  giant. 

"There  they  go !  At  it  again !"  cried  Tom  with 
a  smile.  "Might  have  known  if  I  told  Rad  to  do 
anything  that  Koku  would  be  jealous.  Well,  I'll 
have  to  go  out  now  and  give  that  giant  something 
to  do  that  will  tax  his  strength." 

But  as  Tom  was  about  to  leave  the  room  an- 
other voice  was  heard  in  the  garden. 

"Now,  boys,  be  nice,"  said  some  one  sooth- 
ingly. "The  garden  is  large  enough  for  you  both 
to  work  in.  Rad,  you  begin  at  the  lower  end 
and  spade  toward  the  middle.  Koku,  you  begin 
at  the  upper  end  and  work  down.  Whoever  gets 
to  the  middle  first  will  win." 

"Ha!  Den  Til  show  dat  giant  some  spade 
wuk  as  is  spade  wuk!"  cried  the  colored  man. 
"Garden  wuk  is  mah  middle  name." 

"Be  careful,  Rad!"  laughed  Mr.  Damon,  foe 


MR.  DAMON'S  WHIZZER  35 

he  it  was  who  was  trying  to  act  as  peacemaker. 
"Remember  that  Koku  is  very  strong." 

"Yas,  sah!  He  may  be  strong,  but  he's 
clumsy!"  chuckled  Eradicate.  "You  watch  me 
beat  him!" 

"Ho!  Black  man  get  stuck  in  mud!"  chal- 
lenged Koku.  "I  show  him!" 

Then  there  was  silence,  and  Tom  and  his 
father,  looking  out,  saw  the  two  disputants  be- 
ginning to  spade  the  soil  while  Mr.  Damon,  sat- 
isfied that  he  had,  for  the  time  being,  stopped  a 
quarrel,  turned  toward  the  house. 

"I  was  just  coming  to  look  for  you,"  said  Tom. 
"Sorry  I  had  to  go  off  in  such  a  hurry  and  leave 
you,  but  I  had  promised  to  take  Mary  for  a  ride, 
and  as  it  was  her  first  one,  for  a  distance,  I  didn't 
want  her  to  back  out." 

"That's  all  right,  Tom,  that's  all  right!"  said 
Mr.  Damon  genially.  "Ladies  first  every  time. 
But  I  do  want  to  see  you,  and  it's  about  some- 
thing important." 

"No  trouble,  I  hope?"  queried  Tom,  for  the 
manner  of  the  eccentric  man  was  rather  grave. 

"Trouble  ?  Oh,  no !  Bless  my  frying  pan,  no 
trouble,  Tom !  In  fact,  it  may  be  the  other  way 
about.  Tom,  I  have  an  idea,  and  there  may  be 
millions  in  it!  That's  it — millions!" 

"Good !"  cried  the  young  inventor.  "Might  as 
well  bite  off  a  bi#  lump  while  you're  at  it.  So 


36          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

you  have  a  new  idea!  Well,  I  have  myself,  but 
I'll  listen  to  yours  first.  What  is  it,  Mr.  Damon?" 

"It's  a  new  kind  of  airship,  Tom.  I  haven't 
got  it  all  worked  out  yet,  but  I  can  give  you  a 
rough  outline.  On  my  way  over  I  got  to  think- 
ing about  balloons,  aeroplanes  and  the  like,  and 
it  occurred  to  me  that  the  present  principles  are 
all  wrong. 

"So  I  evolved  a  new  type  of  machine.  I'm  go- 
ing to  call  it  the  Damon  Whizzer.  Maybe  Demon 
Whizzer  would  be  more  appropriate,  but  we  won't 
decide  on  that  now.  Anyhow,  it's  going  to  be  a 
whizzer,  and  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about  it.  There 
is  an  entirely  new  principle  of  elevation  and  pro- 
pulsion involved  in  my  Whizzer,  and  I " 

At  that  moment  there  came  a  crash  and  clatter 
of  steel  and  wood  from  the  garden,  out  of  sight 
of  which  Tom  and  Mr.  Damon  had  walked  while 
talking.  Then  followed  a  jangle  of  words. 

"They're  at  it  again!"  cried  Tom,  as  he  ran 
toward  the  side  of  the  house.  "I  guess  it's  a 
fight  this  time!" 


CHAPTER  V 
TOM'S  PROJECT 

CURIOUS  was  the  sight  that  met  the  gaze  of 
[Tom  Swift  and  Mr.  Wakefield  Damon  as  they 
rounded  the  corner  of  the  house  and  looked  into 
the  newly  spaded  garden.  There  stood  the  giant, 
Koku,  holding  aloft  in  the  air,  by  one  hand,  the 
form  of  the  struggling  colored  man,  Eradicate 
Sampson.  And  Eradicate  was  vainly  trying  to 
get  at  his  enemy  and  rival,  but  was  prevented  by 
the  long-distance  hold  the  giant  had  on  him. 

" Yo'  let  me  go,  now !  Yo'  let  me  go,  big  man !" 
cried  Eradicate.  "Ef  yo'  don't  I'll  bust  yo'  wide 
open,  dat's  whut  I'll  do!  An'  'sides,  I'll  tell 
Massa  Tom  on  yo',  dat's  whut  I'll  do!" 

"Ho!  You  tell— I  let  you  fall!"  threatened 
Koku. 

His  threat  was  dire  enough,  for  such  was  his 
size  and  strength  that  he  held  the  colored  man 
nearly  nine  feet  from  the  ground,  and  a  fall 
from  that  distance  would  seriously  jar  Eradicate, 
if  it  did  nothing  else.  The  colored  man's  eyes 

37 


38  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

opened  wide  as  he  heard  what  Koku  said,  and 
then  he  cried : 

"Let  me  down!  Let  me  down,  an*  I  won't 
say  nuffin !" 

"An*  you  let  me  scatter  dirt?"  asked  Koku, 
for  such  was  the  giant's  idea  of  working  in  the 
garden. 

"Yes,  yo'  kin  scatter  de  dirt  seben  ways  from 
Sunday  fo'  all  I  keers!"  conceded  Eradicate. 
Then,  as  he  was  lowered  to  the  ground,  he  and 
the  giant  turned  and  saw  Mr.  Damon  and  Tom 
approaching. 

"What's  wrong?"  asked  the  young  inventor. 

"'Scuse  me,  Massa  Tom,"  began  Eradicate, 
"but  didn't  yo'  tell  me  to  spade  de  garden  ?" 

"I  guess  I  did,"  admitted  Tom  Swift. 

"An'  you  tell  me  help — yes  ?"  questioned  Koku. 

"Well,  I  thought  it  would  be  a  little  too  much 
for  you,  Rad,"  said  Tom,  gently.  "I  thought 
perhaps  you'd  like  help." 

"Hu!  Not  him,  anyhow!"  declared  the  col- 
ored man  in  great  disgust.  "When  I  git  so  old 
dat  I  cain't  spade  a  garden,  den  me  an*  Boom- 
erang, we-all  gwine  to  die,  dat's  all  I  got  to  say. 
I  was  a-spadin'  my  part  ob  de  garden,  Massa 
Tom,  same  laik  Mr.  Damon  done  tole  me  to,  an' 
dish  yeah  big  mess  ob  bones  steps  on  my  side  ob 
de  middle  an " 

"Him  too  slow.    Koku  scatter  dirt  twice  times 


TOM'S  PROJECT  39 

so  fast!"  declared  the  giant,  whose  English  was 
not  much  better  than  Eradicated. 

"Yes,  I  see,"  said  Tom.  "You  are  so  strong, 
Koku,  that  you  finished  your  part  before  Eradi- 
cate did.  Well,  it  was  good  of  you  to  want  to 
help  him." 

At  this  the  giant  grinned  at  his  rival. 

"At  the  same  time,"  went  on  Tom,  winking 
an  eye  at  Mr.  Damon,  "Eradicate  knows  a  little 
more  about  garden  work,  on  account  of  having 
done  it  so  many  years." 

"Ha!  Whut  I  tell  yo',  Giant!"  boasted  the 
colored  man.  It  was  his  turn  to  smile. 

"And  so,"  went  on  Tom,  judicially,  "I  guess 
I'll  let  Rad  finish  spading  the  garden,  and  you, 
Koku,  can  come  and  help  me  lift  some  heavy  en- 
gine parts.  Mr.  Damon  wants  to  explain  some- 
thing to  me." 

"Ha !  Nothing  what  so  heavy  Koku  not  lift !" 
boasted  the  giant. 

"Go  on!  Lift  yo'se'f  'way  from  heah!"  mut- 
tered Eradicate  as  he  picked  up  his  dropped  spade. 
And  then,  with  a  smile  of  satisfaction,  he  fell  to 
work  in  the  mellow  soil  while  Tom  led  Koku  to 
one  of  the  shops  where  he  set  him  to  lifting  heavy 
motor  parts  about  in  order  to  get  at  a  certain 
machine  that  was  stored  away  in  the  back  of  one 
of  the  rooms. 

"That  will  keep  him  busy,"  said  the  young  in- 


gd          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

yentor.  "And  now,  Mr.  Damon,  I  can  listen  to 
you.  Do  you  really  think  you  have  a  new  idea  in 
airships?" 

"I  really  think  so,  Tom.  My  Whizzer  is  bound 
to  revolutionize  travel  in  the  air.  Let  me  tell  you 
what  I  mean.  Now  cast  your  mind  back.  How 
many  ways  are  now  used  to  propel  an  airship  or 
a  dirigible  balloon  through  the  air?  How  many 
ways?" 

"Two,  as  far  as  I  know,"  said  Tom.  "At  least 
there  are  only  two  that  have  proved  to  be  prac- 
tical." 

"Exactly,"  said  Mr.  Damon.  "One  with  the 
propeller,  or  propellers,  in  front,  and  that  is  the 
tractor  type.  The  other  has  the  propeller  in  the 
rear,  and  that  is  the  pusher  type.  Both  good  as 
far  as  they  go,  but  I  have  something  better." 

"What?"  asked  Tom  with  a  smile. 

"It's  a  Whizzer"  said  the  eccentric  man. 
"Bless  my  gold  tooth !  but  that  is  the  best  name  I 
can  think  of  for  it.  And,  really,  the  propeller 
I'm  thinking  of  inventing  does  whizz  around." 

"But  are  you  going  to  use  a  tractor  or  pusher 
type?"  Tom  wanted  to  know. 

"It's  a  combination  of  both,"  answered  Mr. 
Damon.  "As  it  is  now,  Tom,  you  have  to  get  an 
aeroplane  in  pretty  speedy  motion  before  it  will 
rise  from  the  ground,  don't  you?" 

"Yes,  of  course.    That's  the  principle  on  whidi 


TOM'S  PROJECT  41 

an  aeroplane  rises  and  keeps  aloft,  by  its  speed 
in  the  air.  As  soon  as  that  speed  stops  it  begins 
to  fall,  or  volplane,  as  we  call  it." 

"Exactly.  Now,  instead  of  having  to  depend 
on  the  speed  of  the  aeroplane  for  this,  why  not 
depend  on  the  speed  of  the  propeller — in  other 
words,  the  whizzer?" 

"Well,  we  do,"  said  Tom,  a  bit  puzzled  as  to 
what  his  friend  was  trying  to  get  at.  "If  the 
propeller  didn't  move  the  airship  wouldn't  rise — • 
that  is,  unless  it's  of  the  balloon  type." 

"What  I  mean,"  said  Mr.  Damon,  "is  to  have 
an  aeroplane  that  will  move  in  the  air  the  same 
as  a  boat  moves  in  the  water.  You  don't  have  to 
get  the  propeller  of  a  boat  racing  around  at  the 
rate  of  a  million  revolutions  a  minute,  more  or 
less,  before  your  boat  will  travel,  do  you?  If 
the  engine  turns  the  screw,  or  propeller,  just  over 
say  fifty  times  a  minute  you  would  get  some  mo- 
tion of  the  boat,  wouldn't  you?" 

"Why,  yes,  some,"  admitted  Tom. 

"And  what  causes  it?"  asked  Mr.  Damon,  an- 
ticipating a  triumph. 

"The  resistance  of  the  water  to  the  blades  of 
the  screw,  or  propeller,"  answered  Tom. 

"Exactly!  And  it's  the  resistance  of  the  air  to 
the  blades  of  an  airship  propeller  that  sends  the 
craft  along,  isn't  it?" 

"Yes.    And  because  of  the  difference  in  den- 


42  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT       , 

sity  between  air  and  water  it  becomes  necessary 
to  revolve  an  aeroplane  propeller  many  times 
faster  than  a  boat  propeller.  It's  the  density  that 
makes  the  difference,  Mr.  Damon.  If  air  were 
as  dense  as  water  we  could  have  comparatively 
slow-moving  motors  and  propellers  and " 

"Ha!  There  you  have  it,  Tom!  And  there  is 
where  my  Whizzer — Wakefield  Damon's  Whiz- 
zer — is  going  to  revolutionize  air  travel!"  cried 
the  eccentric  man.  "The  difference  in  density! 
If  air  were  as  dense  as  water  the  problem  would 
be  solved.  And  I  have  solved  it!  I'm  going  to 
turn  the  trick,  Tom !  One  more  question.  How 
can  air  be  made  as  dense  as  water,  Tom  Swift?" 

"Why,  by  condensation  or  compression,  I  sup- 
pose," was  the  rather  slow  answer.  "You  know 
they  have  condensed,  or  compressed,  air  until  it 
is  liquid.  I've  done  it  myself,  as  an  experiment/1 

"That's  it,  Tom !  That's  it !"  cried  Mr.  Damon 
in  delight.  "Compressed  air  will  do  the  trick! 
Not  compressed  to  a  liquid,  exactly,  but  almost 
so.  I'm  going  to  revolve  the  propellers  of  my 
new  airship  in  compressed  air,  so  dense  that  they 
will  not  have  to  have  a  speed  of  more  than  seven 
hundred  revolutions  a  minute.  What's  that  com- 
pared to  the  three  to  ten  thousand  revolutions  of 
the  propellers  now  used?  The  propellers  of 
Damon's  Whizzer  will  be  of  the  pusher  type,  and 
will  revolve  in  dense,  compressed  air,  almost  like 


TOM'S  PROJECT  43 

water,  and  that  will  do  away  with  high  speed 
motors,  with  all  their  complications,  and  make 
traveling  in  the  clouds  as  simple  as  taking  out 
a  little  one-cylinder  motor  boat.  How's  that, 
Tom  Swift?  How's  that  for  an  idea?" 

To  Mr.  Damon's  disappointment,  Tom  was  not 
enthusiastic.  The  young  inventor  gazed  at  his 
eccentric  friend,  and  then  said  slowly: 

"Well,  that's  all  right  in  theory,  but  how  is  it 
going  to  work  out  in  practice?" 

"That's  what  I  came  to  see  you  about,  Tom/' 
was  the  reply.  "Bless  my  tall  hat !  but  that's  just 
why  I  hurried  over  here.  I  wanted  to  tell  you 
when  I  saw  you  going  off  on  a  trip  with  Miss 
Nestor.  That's  my  big  idea — Damon's  Whizzer 
— propellers  revolving  in  compressed  air  like 
water.  Isn't  that  great?" 

"I'm  sorry  to  shatter  your  air  castle,"  said 
Tom;  "but  for  the  life  of  me  I  can't  see  how  it 
will  work.  Of  course,  in  theory,  if  you  could  re- 
volve a  big-bladed  propeller  in  very  dense,  or  in 
liquid,  air,  there  would  be  more  resistance  than 
in  the  rarefied  atmosphere  of  the  upper  regions. 
And,  if  this  could  be  done,  I  grant  you  that  you 
could  use  slower  motors  and  smaller  propeller 
blades — more  like  those  of  a  motor  boat.  But 
how  are  you  going  to  get  the  condensed  air?" 

"Make  it!"  said  Mr.  Damon  promptly.  "Air 
pumps  are  cheap.  Just  carry  one  or  two  on  board 


44  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

the  aeroplane,  and  condense  the  air  as  you  go 
along.  That's  a  small  detail  that  can  easily  be 
worked  out.  I  leave  that  to  you." 

"I'd  rather  you  wouldn't,"  said  Tom.  "That's 
the  whole  difficulty— compressing  your  air. 
LWait!  I'll  explain  it  to  you." 

Then  the  young  inventor  went  into  details.  He 
told  of  the  ponderous  machinery  needed  to  con- 
dense air  to  a  form  approximating  water,  and 
spoke  of  the  terrible  pressure  exerted  by  the 
liquid  atmosphere. 

"Anything  that  you  would  gain  by  having  a 
slow-speed  motor  and  smaller  propeller  blades, 
would  be  lost  by  the  ponderous  air-condensing 
machinery  you  would  need,"  Tom  told  Mr.  Da- 
mon. "Besides,  if  you  could  surround  your  pro- 
pellers with  a  strata  of  condensed  air,  it  would 
create  such  terrible  cold  as  to  freeze  the  pro- 
peller blades  and  make  them  as  brittle  as  glass. 

"Why,  I  have  taken  a  heavy  piece  of  metal, 
dipped  it  into  liquid  air,  and  I  could  shatter  the 
steel  with  a  hammer  as  easily  as  a  sheet  of  ice. 
The  cold  of  liquid  air  is  beyond  belief. 

"Attempts  have  been  made  to  make  motors 
run  with  liquid  air,  but  they  have  not  succeeded. 
fTo  condense  air  and  to  carry  it  about  so  that 
propellers  might  revolve  in  it,  would  be  out  of  the 
question." 

"You  think  so,  Tom?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 


TOWS  PROJECT  £5 

"I'm  sure  of  it!" 

"Oh,  dear!  That's  too  bad.  Bless  my  over- 
shoes, but  I  thought  I  had  a  new  idea.  Well, 
you  ought  to  know.  So  Damon's  Whizser  goes 
on  the  scrap  heap  before  ever  it's  built.  Well, 
we'll  say  no  more  about  it.  You  ought  to  know 
jbest,  Tom.  I  wasn't  thinking  of  it  so  much  for 
myself  as  for  you.  I  thought  you'd  like  some 
new  idea  to  work  on." 

"Much  obliged,  Mr.  Damon,  but  I  have  a  new 
idea,"  said  Tom. 

"You  have?  What  is  it?  Tell  me— that  is, 
if  it  isn't  a  secret,"  went  on  the  eccentric  man, 
as  much  delighted  over  Tom's  new  plan  as  he 
had  been  over  his  own  Whizzer,  doomed  to  fail- 
ure so  soon. 

"It  isn't  a  secret  from  you,"  said  Tom.  "I 
got  the  idea  while  I  was  riding  with  Mary.  I 
wanted  to  talk  to  her — to  tell  her  not  to  jump  out 
when  we  had  a  little  accident — but  I  had  trouble 
making  myself  understood  because  of  the  noise 
of  the  motor." 

"They  do  make  a  great  racket,"  conceded  Mr. 
Damon.  "But  I  don't  suppose  anything  can  be 
done  about  it." 

"I  don't  see  why  there  can't !"  exclaimed  Tom. 
"And  that's  my  new  idea — to  make  a  silent  air- 
craft motor — perhaps  silent  propeller  blades, 
though  it's  the  motor  that  makes  the  most  noise* 


46  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

And  that's  what  I'm  going  to  do — invent  a  silent 
aeroplane.  Not  because  I  want  so  much  to  talk 
when  I  take  passengers  up  in  the  air,  but  I  be- 
lieve such  a  motor  would  be  valuable,  especially 
for  scouting  planes  in  war  work.  To  go  over  the 
enemy's  lines  and  not  be  heard  would  be  valuable 
many  times. 

"And  that's  what  I'm  going  to  do — work  on  a 
silent  motor  for  Uncle  Sam.  I've  got  the  germ 
of  an  idea  and  now " 

"Excuse  me,"  said  a  voice  behind  Mr.  Damon 
and  Tom,  and,  turning,  the  young  inventor  be- 
held the  form  of  Mr.  Peton  Gale,  president  of, 
the  Universal  Flying  Machine  Company. 


CHAPTER  VI 

MAKING   PLANS 

TOM  SWIFT  had  drawn  pencil  and  paper  from 
his  pocket,  and,  as  he  and  Mr.  Damon  were  sit- 
ting on  the  steps  of  one  of  the  shops,  the  young 
inventor  was  about  to  demonstrate  by  a  drawing 
part  of  his  new  project,  when  the  interruption 
came  in  the  shape  of  one  of  the  men  who  had,  an 
hour  before,  made  a  business  offer  to  Tom. 

"Excuse  me,"  went  on  Mr.  Peton  Gale,  "but 
Mr.  Ware  and  I  got  to  talking  it  over  on  our  way 
to  the  station — the  matter  of  having  you  in  our 
company,  Mr.  Swift — and  we  concluded  that  it 
was  worth  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  a  year 
for  us  to  have  you.  So  I  came  back- " 

"It  isn't  of  the  slightest  use,  Mr.  Gale,  I  as- 
sure you,"  said  Tom,  a  bit  heatedly,  for  he  did 
not  like  the  persistency  of  this  man,  nor  did  he! 
like  his  coming  on  the  factory  grounds  unan- 
nounced and  in  this  secret  manner.  "I  told  you 
I  could  not  accept  your  offer.  It  is  not  altogether 
a  matter  of  money.  My  word  was  final." 

47 


48  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"Oh  very  well,  if  you  put  it  that  way,"  said 
Mr.  Gale  stiffly,  "of  course  there  is  nothing  more 
to  say.  But  I  thought  perhaps  you  did  not  con- 
sider we  had  offered  you  enough  and " 

"Your  offer  is  fair  enough  from  a  financial 
standpoint/'  said  Tom;  "but  I  simply  cannot  ac- 
cept it.  I  have  dther  plans.  Jackson !"  he  called 
to  one  of  his  mechanics  who  was  passing,  "kindly 
see  Mr.  Gale  to  the  gate,  and  then  let  me  know 
how  it  was  any  one  came  in  here  without  a  per- 
mit." | 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  the  mechanic,  as  he  stood  sig- 
nificantly waiting. 

"There  was  no  one  at  the  gate  when  I  came  in," 
said  Mr.  Gale,  and  his  manner  was  antagonizing. 
"I  wanted  to  speak  to  you — to  ask  you  to  recon- 
sider your  offer — so  I  came  back." 

"It  is  against  the  rules  to  admit  strangers  to 
the  shop  grounds,"  said  Tom.  "Good-day !" 

The  president  of  the  Universal  Flying  Machine 
Company  did  not  respond,  but  there  was  a  look 
on  his  face  as  he  turned  away  that,  had  Tom  seen 
it,  might  have  caused  him  some  uneasiness.  But 
he  did  not  see.  Instead,  he  resumed  his  talk 
with  Mr.  Damon, 

"Tom,  your  idea  is  most  interesting,"  declared 
the  eccentric  man.  "I  hope  you  will  be  able  to 
work  it  out!" 

*Tm  going  to  try,"  said  the  young  inventor. 


MAKING  PLANS  49 

"I  hope  that  man — Mr.  Gale — didn't  hear  any- 
thing of  what  I  was  saying.  He  sneaked  up  on 
us  before  I  was  aware  any  one  was  near  but  our- 
selves." 

"I  don't  imagine  he  heard  very  much,  Tom," 
said  Mr.  Damon.  "He  may  have  heard  you  men- 
tion a  silent  motor " 

"That's  just  what  I  wish  he  hadn't  heard," 
broke  in  Tom.  "That's  the  germ  of  the  idea,  and 
once  it  becomes  known  that  I  am  working  onj 

that Well,  there's  no  use  crying  over  spilled) 

milk,"  and  he  smiled  at  the  homely  proverb.  "I'll 
have  to  work  in  secret,  once  I've  started." 

"Do  you  think  the  government  would  use  it, 
Jom?"  asked  his  friend. 

"I  should  think  it  would  be  glad  to.  Consider 
what  a  wonderful  part  airships  are  playing  in  the 
present  war.  It  really  is  a  struggle  to  see  which 
will  be  the  master  of  the  sky — the  Allies  or  the 
Germans — and,  up  to  recently,  the  Huns  had  the 
advantage.  Then  the  Allies,  recognizing  how 
vital  it  was,  began  to  forge  ahead,  and  now  Uncle 
Sam  with  his  troops  under  General  Pershing  is 
leading  everything,  or  will  lead  shortly.  We  have 
been  a  bit  slow  with  our  aircraft  production,  but 
now  we  are  booming  along.  Uncle  Sam  will  soon 
have  the  mastery  of  the  sky." 

"I  hope  so,"  sighed  Mr.  Damon.  "We  must 
beat  the  Germans!" 


50  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

Briefly,  Tom  spoke  of  what  Pershing's  men 
were  doing  with  their  aeroplanes  in  France,  and 
mention  was  made  of  what  the  French  and  Brit- 
ish had  done  prior  to  the  entrance  of  the  United 
States  into  the  World  War. 
j  "While  we  were  yet  neutral,  Americans  had 
made  gallant  names  for  themselves  flying  for 
France,  and  with  my  silent  motor  they  ought  to 
do  better,"  declared  Tom. 

"Is  silence  its  chief  recommendation?"  asked 
Mr.  Damon. 

"Yes,"  replied  Tom.  "Or  rather,  it  will  be 
when  I  have  it  perfected.  Aeroplane  motors  now 
are  about  as  compact  and  speedy  as  they  can  be 
made.  It  is  only  the  terrific  noise  that  is  a  handi- 
cap. It  is  a  handicap  to  the  pilots  and  observers 
in  the  craft,  as  they  cannot  communicate  except 
through  a  special  speaking  tube,  and  this  is  not 
always  satisfactory  or  sure.  Then,  too,  the  noise 
of  an  airship  proclaims  its  approach  to  the  enemy, 
sometimes  long  before  it  can  be  seen. 

"With  a  silent  motor  all  this  would  be  done 
away  with.  With  my  new  craft,  in  case  I  can  per- 
fect it,  the  enemy's  lines  can  be  approached  as 
silently  as  the  Indians  used  to  approach  the  log 
cabins  of  the  white  settlers.  That  will  be  its 
great  advantage — not  that  conversation  can  be 
more  easily  carried  on,  for  that  is,  after  all,  an 
unimportant  detail.  But  to  approach  the  enemy's. 


MAKING  PLANS  51 

lines  in  the  silence  of  the  night  would  be  a  dis- 
tinct gain." 

"I  believe  it  would,  Tom !"  exclaimed  Mr.  Da- 
mon. "And  I  should  think,  too,  that  Uncle  Sam 
would  be  glad  to  get  such  a  motor,"  he  added. 

"Well,  he'll  have  one  to  take  if  he  wants  it,  if 
I  can  make  my  plans  a  success,"  declared  Tom. 
"That  is,  unless  those  other  fellows  get  ahead  of 
me." 

"What  other  fellows?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"Gale,  Ware  and  their  crowd,"  was  the  an- 
swer. "I  fancy  they  are  provoked  because  I 
wouldn't  agree  to  work  for  them,  and  now,  that 
Gale  overheard — as  he  must  have — what  I  pur- 
pose working  on,  they  may  try  that  game  them- 
selves." 

"You  mean  try  to  turn  out  a  silent  motor?" 

"Yes.  It  would  be  a  big  feather  in  their  cap; 
for  their  company,  so  far,  hasn't  been  very  suc^ 
cessful  on  government  orders.  That's  why  they 
came  to  me,  I  guess." 

"I  shouldn't  be  surprised,  Tom,"  conceded  Mr. 
Damon.  "Since  the  government  accepted  your 
giant  cannon  and  your  great  searchlight,  you  have 
come  into  greater  prominence  than  ever  before. 
And  those  two  things  are  a  wonderful  success." 

"Yes,"  admitted  Tom,  modestly  enough,  "the 
big  electric  light  seems  to  have  been  of  some  ben- 
efit on  the  European  battle  front,  and  though 


52  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

they  haven't  been  able  to  make  and  transport  as 
many  of  my  giant  cannons  as  I'd  like  to  see  over 
there,  it  is  progressing,  I  understand." 

And  this  is  true.  For  the  details  of  these  two 
inventions  of  Tom  Swift's  I  refer  my  readers  to 
the  books  bearing  those  titles.  Sufficient  to  state 
here  that  the  government  was  using  these  two 
inventions,  and  there  had  been  no  necessity  for 
commandeering  them  either,  since  Tom  had  freely 
offered  them  at  the  declaration  of  war  with  Ger- 
many. 

"Well,  since  I  can't  help  you  with  my  'Wldz- 
zer' "  said  Mr.  Damon,  with  a  smile,  "let  me  do 
;what  I  can  toward  your  silent  motor,  Tom.  What 
are  you  going  to  call  it?" 

"Oh,  I  don't  know — hadn't  thought  of  a  name. 
I  guess  'Air  Scout*  would  be  as  good  as  any. 
[That's  what  it  will  be — a  machine  for  silently 
scouting  in  the  air.  And  now  to  get  down  to 
Jbrass  tacks,  as  the  poet  says,  I  believe  I  will " 

"Gentleman  to  see  you,  Mr.  Swift,"  interrupted 
Jackson. 

"Bless  my  penwiper!"  cried  Mr.  Damon. 
"More  visitors !  I  hope  it  isn't  Gale  or  Ware  come 
back  to  see  what  they  can  spy  on!" 


CHAPTER  VII 

A  PROBLEM   IN  SOUND 

TOM  SWIFT  looked  up  with  a  distinct  appear- 
ance of  being  annoyed  that  was  unusual  with 
him,  for  he  was,  nearly  always,  good-natured. 
But  the  frown  that  had  replaced  the  pleasant  look 
on  his  face  while  he  was  talking  to  Mr.  Damon 
about  the  projected  new  air  scout  was  at  once 
wiped  away  as  he  looked  at  the  card  Jackson  held 
out  to  him. 

"Bring  him  in  right  away!"  he  ordered.  "He 
needn't  have  stood  on  that  ceremony." 

"Well,  he  said  it  was  a  business  call,"  returned 
the  mechanician  with  a  cheerful  grin,  "and  he 
said  he  wanted  it  done  according  to  form.  So  he 
gave  me  his  card  to  bring  you." 

"Who  is  it?"  asked  Mr.  Damon,  with  the  privi- 
lege of  an  old  friend. 

"It's  Ned  Newton,"  Tom  answered;  "though 
why  he's  putting  on  all  this  formality  I  can't 
fathom." 

Jackson  went  back  to  the  main  gate  and  told 
53 


54  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

the  man  on  guard  there  to  admit  Ned,  who  hac 
so  formally  sent  in  his  card. 

"Ah,  Mr.  Swift,  I  believe?"  began  the  bank 
employee  with  that  suave,  formal  air  which 
usually  precedes  a  business  meeting. 

"That  is  my  name,"  said  Tom,  with  a  sup* 
pressed  grin,  and  he  spoke  as  stiffly  as  though  to 
a  perfect  stranger. 

"Mr.  Tom  Swift,  the  great  inventor?"  went  on 
Ned. 

"Yes." 

"Ah,  then  I  am  at  the  right  place.  Just  sign 
here,  please,  on  the  dotted  line,"  and  he  held  out 
a  blank  form,  and  a  fountain  pen  to  Tom,  who 
took  them  half  mechanically. 

"Huh?  What's  the  big  idea,  Ned?"  asked  the 
young  inventor,  unable  longer  to  carry  on  the 
joke.  "Is  this  a  warrant  for  my  arrest,  or  merely 
a  testimonial  to  you.  If  it's  the  latter,  and  con* 
cerns  your  nerve,  I'll  gladly  sign  it." 

"Well,  it's  something  like  that!"  laughed  Ned. 
"That's  your  application  for  another  block  of 
Liberty  Bonds,  Tom,  and  I  want  you,  as  a  per- 
sonal favor  to  me,  as  a  business  favor  to  the 
bank,  and  as  your  plain  duty  to  Uncle  Sam,  to 
double  your  last  subscription." 

Tom  looked  at  the  sum  Ned  had  filled  in  on 
the  blank  form,  and  uttered  a  slight  whistle  of 
surprise. 


A  PROBLEM  IN  SOUND  55 

"That's  all  right  now,"  said  Ned,  with  the  air 
of  a  professional  salesman.  "You  can  stand  that 
and  more,  too.  I'm  letting  you  off  easy.  Why, 
I  got  Mary's  father — Mr.  Nestor — for  twice  what 
he  took  last  time,  and  Mary  herself — hard  as  she's 
working  for  the  Red  Cross — gave  me  a  nice  ap- 
plication. So  it's  up  to  you  to " 

"Nuff  said !"  exclaimed  Tom,  sententiously,  as 
he  signed  his  name.  "I  may  have  to  reconsider 
my  recent  refusal  of  the  offer  of  the  Universal 
Flying  Machine  Company,  though,  if  I  haven't 
money  enough  to  meet  this  subscription,  Ned." 

"Oh,  you'll  meet  it  all  right!  Much  obliged," 
and  Ned  folded  the  Liberty  Bond  subscription 
paper  and  put  it  in  his  pocket.  "But  did  you  turn 
down  the  offer  from  those  people?" 

"I  did,"  answered  Tom.  "But  how  did  you 
know  about  it,  Ned  ?" 

"First  let  me  say  that  I'm  glad  you  decided  to 
have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  They're  a  rich 
firm,  and  have  lots  of  money,  but  I  wouldn't  trust 
'em,  even  if  they  have  some  government  con- 
tracts. The  way  I  happened  to  know  they  were 
likely  to  make  you  an  offer  is  this,"  continued  Ned 
Newton. 

"They  do  business  with  one  of  the  New  York 
banks  with  which  my  bank — notice  the  accent  on 
the  my,  Tom — is  connected.  The  other  day  I 
happened  to  see  some  correspondence  about  you. 


56  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

These  flying  machine  people  asked  our  bank  to 
find  out  certain  things  about  you,  and,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  business,  we  had  to  give  the  information. 
Sort  of  a  commercial  agency  report,  you  know, 
nothing  unusual,  and  it  isn't  the  first  time  it's 
been  done  since  your  business  got  so  large.  But 
that's  how  I  happened  to  know  these  fellows  con- 
templated dickering  with  you." 

"Do  you  know  Gale  or  Ware?"  Tom  asked. 

"Not  personally.  But  in  a  business  way,  Tom, 
I'd  warn  you  to  look  out  for  them,  as  they're 
sharp  dealers.  They  put  one  over  on  the  govern- 
ment all  right,  and  there  may  be  some  unpleasant 
publicity  to  it  later.  But  they're  putting  up  a  big 
bluff,  and  pretending  they  can  turn  out  a  lot  of 
flying  machines  for  use  in  Europe.  Why  don't 
you  get  busy  on  that  end  of  the  game,  Tom? 

"I  know  you've  more  than  done  your  bit,  with 
Liberty  Bonds,  subscriptions  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
and  other  war  wprk,  besides  your  war  tank  and 
other  inventions.  But  you're  such  a  shark  on 
flying  machines  I  should  think  you'd  offer  your 
factory  to  the  government  for  the  production  of 
aeroplanes." 

"I  would  in  a  minute,  Ned,  and  you  know  it; 
but  the  fact  of  the  matter  is  my  shops  aren't 
equipped  for  the  production  of  anything  in  large 
numbers.  We  do  mostly  an  experimenting  busi- 
ness here,  making  only  one  or  two  of  a  certain 


A  PROBLEM  IN  SOUND  57. 

machine.  I  have  told  the  government  officials 
they  can  have  anything  I've  got,  and  you  know 
they  wouldn't  let  me  enlist  when  I  was  working 
$n  the  war  tank." 

"Yes,  I  remember  that,"  said  Ned.  "You're 
ho  slacker !  I  wanted  to  shoulder  a  rifle,  too,  but 
they  keep  me  at  this  Liberty  Loan  work.  Well, 
Uncle  Sam  ought  to  know." 

"That's  what  I  say,"  agreed  Tom,  "and  that's 
why  I  haven't  gone  to  the  front  myself.  And 
now,  as  it  happens,  I've  got  something  else  in 
mind  that  may  help  Uncle  Sam." 

"What  is  it?" 

"A  silent  flying  machine  for  scout  work  on  the 
battle  front,"  Tom  told  his  friend,  and  then  he 
gave  a  few  details,  such  as  those  he  had  been  tell- 
ing Mr.  Damon. 

"Then  I  don't  wonder  you  turned  down  the 
offer  of  the  Universal  people,"  remarked  Ned, 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  recital.  "This  will  be  a 
heap  more  help  to  the  government,  Tom,  than 
working  for  those  people,  even  at  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  And  if  you  get  short, 
and  can't  meet  your  newest  Liberty  Bond  pay- 
ments, why,  I  guess  the  bank  will  stretch  your 
credit  a  little." 

"Thanks!"  laughed  Tom,  "but  I'll  try  not  to 
ask  them." 

[The  friends  talked  together  a  little  longer,  an<i 


58  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

then  Ned  had  to  take  his  departure  to  solicit 
more  subscriptions,  while  Mr.  Damon  went  with 
him,  the  eccentric  man  saying  he  would  go  home 
to  Waterfield. 

"But,  bless  my  overshoes,  Tom !"  he  exclaimed, 
as  he  departed,  "don't  forget  to  let  me  know 
when  you  have  your  silent  motor  working.  I 
want  to  see  it." 

"I'll  let  you  know,"  was  the  promise  given  by 
the  young  inventor. 

"And  watch  out  for  those  Universal  people,'* 
warned  Ned.  "I'm  not  telling  you  this  as  a  bank 
official,  for  I'm  not  supposed  to,  but  it's  per- 
sonal." 

'Til  be  on  the  watch,"  said  Tom.  And,  as  he 
went  into  his  private  workshop,  he  wondered  why 
it  was  his  father  and  Ned  had  both  warned  him 
not  to  trust  Gale  and  Ware. 

The  next  few  days  were  busy  ones  for  Tom 
Swift.  Once  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  go  to 
work  seriously  on  a  silent  motor,  all  else  was 
put  aside.  He  sent  a  note  to  Mary  Nestor,  tell- 
ing her  what  he  was  going  to  do,  and,  asking  her 
to  say  nothing  about  it,  which,  of  course,  Mary 
agreed  to. 

"Come  and  see  me  when  you  can,"  she  sent 
back  word,  "but  I  know  you  won't  have  much 
chance  when  you're  experimenting  with  your  in- 
vention. And  I  shall  be  working  so  hard  for  the 


A  PROBLEM  IN  SOUND  59 

Red  Cross  that  I  sha'n't  get  much  chance  to  en- 
tertain you.  But  the  war  can't  last  forever." 

"No,"  agreed  Tom  with  a  sigh,  as  he  put  away 
her  letter,  "and  thank  goodness  that  it  can't !" 

The  young  inventor  threw  himself  into  the  per- 
plexing work  of  inventing  a  silent  motor  with  all 
the  fervor  he  had  given  to  the  production  of  his 
war  tank,  his  giant  cannon,  his  wonderful  search- 
light and  other  machines. 

"And,"  mused  Tom,  as  he  sat  at  his  work  table 
with  pencil  and  paper  before  him,  "since  this  is 
fi  problem  in  acoustics,  I  had  best  begin,  I  sup- 
pose by  going  back  to  first  principles,  and  after 
determining  what  makes  an  aeroplane  engine 
woisy,  try  to  figure  out  how  to  make  it  quiet. 

NOW  as  to  the  first,  the  principle  causes  of  noise 
gre » 

And  at  that  instant  there  broke  on  Tom's  ears 
a  succession  of  discordant  sounds  which  seemed 
to  be  a  combination  of  an  Indian's  war  whoop  and 
a  college  student's  yells  at  a  football  game. 

"Now  I  wonder  what  that  is !"  mused  the  young 
inventor  as  he  hastily  arose.  "Better  solve  that 
problem  before  I  tackle  the  aeroplane  motor." 


CHAFFER  VIII 

THROUGH   THE  ROOF 

TOM  rushed  from  his  private  office,  and  when 
he  reached  the  outer  door  he  heard  with  more 
distinctness  the  sounds  that  had  alarmed  him. 
[They  seemed  to  come  from  a  small  building 
given  over  to  electrical  apparatus,  and  which,  at 
the  time,  was  not  supposed  to  be  in  use.  It  had 
been  Tom's  workroom,  so  to  speak,  when  he  was 
developing  his  electric  runabout  and  rifle,  but  of 
late  he  had  not  spent  much  time  in  it. 

"Somebody's  in  there !"  reflected  the  young  in- 
ventor, as  he  heard  yells  coming  from  the  open 
door  of  the  place.  "And  if  it  isn't  Koku  and 
Eradicate  I  miss  my  guess!  ^Wonder  what  they 
can  be  doing  there." 

He  crossed  the  yard  between  his  private  office 
and  the  electrical  shop  in  a  few  rapid  strides,  and, 
as  he  entered  the  latter  place,  he  was  greeted  with 
a  series  of  wild  yells. 

"Good  volume  of  sound  here,  at  all  events," 
mused  Tom.  "Almost  as  much  as  my  motor 

60 


THROUGH  THE  ROOF  6l 

made  when  I  was  trying  to  talk  to  Mary.  Hello- 
there!  What's  going  on?  Is  any  one  hurt? 
.What's  the  matter?"  he  cried,  for,  at  first,  he 
could  see  no  one  in  the  dim  light  of  the  place. 
[The  interior  was  a  maze  of  electrical  apparatus. 

"Who's  here?"  demanded  Tom,  as  he  ad- 
vanced. 

"Oh,  Master !  Come  quick !  Koku  'most  dead 
an*  no  can  let  go !"  was  the  cry. 

"Yo'  jest  bet  yo'  cain't  let  go!"  chimed  in  the 
voice  of  Eradicate.  "I  done  knowed  yo?  would 
git  into  trouble  ef  yo'  come  heah,  an*  Fse  glad  ob 
it!  So  I  is!" 

"What  is  it,  Rad?  What  has  happened  to 
Koku  ?"  cried  Tom,  running  forward,  for  though 
no  very  powerful  current  could  be  turned  on  in 
the  electrical  shop  at  this  period  of  unuse,  there 
was  enough  to  be  very  painful.  "What  is  it, 
Rad?" 

"Oh,  dat  big  foolish  giant,  Koku,  done  got  his 
se'f  into  trouble!"  chuckled  the  colored  man. 
"He  done  got  holt  ob  one  ob  dem  air  contrap- 
tions, Massa  Tom,  an'  he  cain't  let  go !  Ha!  Ha! 
Golly!  Look  at  him  squirm!"  and  Rad  laughed 
shrilly,  which  accounted  for  some  of  the  sounds 
pTom  had  heard. 

Then  came  yells  of  rage  and  pain  from  the 
'giant,  and  they  were  so  loud  and  vigorous,  ming- 
ling with  Eradicate's  as  they  did,  that  it  was  no 


6a         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

wonder  Tom  was  startled.  The  sounds  were 
heard  in  the  other  shops,  and  men  came  running 
out.  But  before  then  Tom  had  put  an  end  to  the 
trouble. 

One  look  showed  him  what  had  happened. 
Just  how  or  why  Koku  and  Eradicate  had  entered 
the  electrical  shop  Tom  did  not  then  stop  to  in- 
quire. But  he  saw  that  the  giant  had  grasped  the 
handles  of  one  of  the  electric  machines,  de- 
signed for  charging  Leyden  jars  used  in  Tom's 
experiments,  and  the  powerful,  though  not  dan- 
gerous, current  had  so  paralyzed,  temporarily, 
the  muscles  of  the  giant's  hands  and  arms  that 
he  could  not  let  go,  and  there  he  was,  squirming, 
*and  not  knowing  how  to  turn  off  the  current,  and 
unable  to  ease  himself,  while  Eradicate  stood  and 
,  laughed  at  him,  fairly  howling  with  delight. 
1  "Ha!  Guess  yo'  won't  do  no  mo'  spadin*  in 
Massa  Tom's  garden  right  away,  big  man!" 
taunted  Eradicate. 

J  "Be  quiet,  Rad!"  ordered  Tom,  as  he  reached 
up  and  pulled  out  the  switch,  thus  shutting  off  the 
current.  "This  isn't  anything  to  laugh  at." 
>  "But  he  done  look  so  funny,  Massa  Tom!" 
pleaded  the  colored  man.  "He  done  squirm 
laik " 

But  Eradicate  did  not  finish  what  he  intended 
to  say.  Once  free  from  the  powerful  current, 
the  giant  looked  at  his  numb  hands,  and  then, 


THROUGH  THE  ROOF  63 

seeming  to  think  that  Eradicate  was  the  cause  of 
it  all,  he  sprang  at  the  colored  man  with  a  yell. 
But  Eradicate  did  not  stay  to  see  what  would 
happen.  With  a  howl  of  terror,  he  raced  out  of 
the  door,  and,  old  and  rheumatic  as  he  was,  he 
managed  to  gain  the  stable  of  his  mule,  Boom- 
erang, over  which  he  had  his  humble  but  com- 
fortable quarters. 

"Well,  I  guess  he's  safe  for  a  while !"  laughed 
Tom,  as  he  saw  the  giant  turn  away,  shaking  his 
fist  at  the  closed  door,  for  Koku,  big  as  he  was, 
stood  in  mortal  terror  of  the  mule's  heels. 

Tom  locked  the  door  of  the  electrical  shop  and 
went  back  to  his  interrupted  problem.  From 
Jackson  he  learned  that  Koku  and  Eradicate  had 
merely  happened  to  stroll  into  the  forbidden 
place,  which  had  been  left  open  by  accident. 
JThere,  it  appeared,  Koku  had  handled  some  of 
the  machinery,  ending  by  switching  on  the  cur- 
rent of  the  machine  the  handles  of  which  he  later 
unsuspectingly  picked  up.  Then  he  received  a 
shock  he  long  remembered,  and  for  many  days 
he  believed  Eradicate  had  been  responsible  for 
it,  and  there  was  more  than  the  usual  hostile  feel- 
ing between  the  two.  But  Eradicate  was  innocent 
of  that  trick,  at  all  events. 

"Though,"  said  Tom,  telling  his  father  about 
it  later,  "Rad  would  have  turned  on  the  current 
if  he  had  known  he  could  make  trouble  for  Koku 


64  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

by  it.  I  never  saw  their  like  for  having  disagree- 
ments !" 

"Yes,  but  they  are  both  devoted  to  you,  Tom/' 
said  the  aged  inventor.  "But  what  is  this  you 
hinted  at — a  silent  motor  you  called  it,  I  believe? 
Are  you  really  serious  in  trying  to  invent  one?" 

"Yes,  Dad,  I  am.  I  think  there's  a  big  field 
for  an  aeroplane  that  could  travel  along  over  the 
enemy's  lines — particularly  at  night — and  not  be 
heard  from  below.  Think  of  the  scout  work 
that  could  be  done." 

"Well,  yes,  it  could  be  done  if  you  could  get 
a  silent  motor,  or  propellers  that  made  no  noise, 
[Tom.  But  I  don't  believe  it  can  be  done." 

"Well,  maybe  not,  Dad.  But  I'm  going  to 
try!"  and  Tom,  after  a  further  talk  with  his 
father,  began  work  in  earnest  on  the  big  prob- 
lem. That  it  was  a  big  one  Tom  was  not  dis- 
posed to  deny,  and  that  it  would  be  a  valuable  in- 
vention even  his  somewhat  sceptical  father  ad- 
mitted. 

"How  are  you  going  to  start,  Tom?"  asked 
Mr.  Swift,  several  days  after  the  big  idea  had 
come  to  the  young  man. 

"I'm  going  to  experiment  a  bit,  at  first.  I've 
got  a  lot  of  old  motors,  that  weren't  speedy 
enough  for  any  of  my  flying  machines,  and  I'm 
going  to  make  them  over.  If  I  spoil  them  the 
loss  won't  amount  to  anything,  and  if  I  succeed 


THROUGH  THE  ROOF  65 

— well,  maybe  I  can  help  out  Uncle  Sam  a  bit 


more." 


As  Tom  had  said  he  would  do,  he  began  at 
the  very  foundation,  and  studied  the  fundamental 
principles  of  sound. 

"Sound,"  the  young  inventor  told  Ned  New- 
ton, in  speaking  about  the  problem,  "is  a  sensa- 
tion which  is  peculiar  to  the  ear,  though  the  vi- 
brations caused  by  sound  waves  may  be  felt  in 
many  parts  of  the  body.  But  the  ear  is  the  great 
receiver  of  sound." 

"You  aren't  going  to  invent  a  sort  of  muffler 
rfor  the  ears,  are  you,  Tom?"  asked  Ned.  "That 
would  be  an  easy  way  of  solving  the  problem, 
j)ut  I  doubt  if  you  could  get  the  Germans  to  wear 
your  ear-tabs  so  they  wouldn't  hear  the  sound 
of  the  Allied  aeroplanes." 

"No,  I'm  not  figuring  on  doing  the  trick  that 
way,"  said  Tom  with  a  laugh.  "I've  really  got 
to  cut  down  the  sound  of  the  motor  and  the  pro- 
peller blades,  so  a  person,  listening  with  all  his 
ears,  won't  hear  any!  noise,  unless  he's  within  a 
few  feet  of  the  plane." 

"Well,  I  can  tell  you,  right  off  the  reel,  how  to 
do  it,"  said  the  bank  employee. 

"How?"  asked  Tom  eagerly. 

"Run  your  engine  and  propellers  in  a  vacuum,^ 
the  prompt  reply. 
Hum !"   said   Tom,   musingly.     "Yes,   thai 


66  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

would  be  a  simple  way  out,  and  I'll  do  it,  if  you'll 
tell  me  how  to  breathe  in  a  vacuum." 

"Oh,  I  didn't  agree  to  do  that,"  laughed  Ned. 

But  he  had  spoken  the  truth,  as  those  who 
have  studied  physics  well  know.  There  must  be 
an  atmosphere  for  the  transmission  of  sound, 
which  is  the  reason  all  is  cold  and  silent  and  still 
at  the  moon.  There  is  no  atmosphere  there. 
Sound  implies  vibration.  Something,  such  as 
liquid,  gas,  or  solid,  must  be  set  in  motion  to 
produce  sound,  and  for  the  purpose  of  science  the 
air  we  breathe  may  be  considered  a  gas,  being 
composed  of  two. 

Not  only  must  the  object,  either  solid,  liquid, 
or  gaseous,  be  in  motion  to  produce  sound,  but 
the  air  surrounding  the  vibrating  body  must  also 
be  moving  in  unison  with  it.  And  lastly  there 
must  be  some  medium  of  receiving  the  sound 
waves — the  ear  or  some  part  of  the  body.  To- 
tally deaf  persons  may  be  made  aware  of  sound 
through  the  vibrations  received  through  their 
hands  or  feet.  They  receive,  of  course,  only  the 
more  intense,  or  largest,  sound  waves,  and  can 
not  hear  notes  of  music  nor  spoken  words, 
though  they  may  feel  the  vibration  when  a  piano 
is  played.  And,  as  Ned  has  said,  no  sound  is 
produced  in  a  vacuum. 

"But,"  said  Tom,  "since  I  can't  run  my  aero- 
jplane  in  a  vacuum,  or  even  have  the  propellers 


THROUGH  THE  ROOF  07 

revolve  in  one,  it's  up  to  me  to  solve  the  problem 
some  other  way.  The  propellers  don't  really 
make  noise  enough  to  worry  about  when  they're 
high  in  the  air.  It's  the  exhaust  from  the  motor, 
and  to  get  rid  of  that  will  be  my  first  attempt." 

"Can  it  be  done?"  asked  Ned. 

"I  don't  know,"  was  Tom's  frank  answer. 

"They  do  it  on  an  automobile  to  a  great  ex- 
tent," went  on  Ned.  "Some  of  'em  you  can 
hardly  hear." 

"Yes,  but  an  aeroplane  engine  runs  many, 
many  times  faster  than  the  motor  of  an  auto," 
said  Tom,  "and  there  are  more  explosions  to 
muffle.  I  doubt  if  the  muffler  of  an  auto  would 
cut  down  the  sound  of  an  aero  engine  to  any 
appreciable  extent  But,  of  course,  I'll  try  along 
those  lines." 

"They  have  mufflers  or  silencers  for  guns  and 
rifles,"  went  on  Ned.  "Couldn't  you  make  a 
big  one  of  those  contraptions  and  put  it  on  an 
aeroplane  ?" 

"I  doubt  it,"  said  Tom,  shaking  his  head.  "Of 
course  it's  the  same  principle  as  that  in  an  auto 
muffler,  or  on  a  motor  boat — a  series  of  baffle 
plates  arranged  within  a  hollow  cylinder.  But  all 
such  devices  cut  down  power,  and  I  don't  want 
to  do  that.  However,  I'm  going  to  solve  the 
problem  or — bust !" 

And  .Torn  came  near  "busting,"  Ned  remarked 


(68          TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

later,  when  he  and  his  friend  talked  over  the 
progress  of  the  invention. 

Two  weeks  had  passed  since  the  start  of  his 
evolution  of  his  new  idea,  and  following  the  vis- 
iting of  the  representatives  of  the  Universal  Fly- 
ing Machine  Company.  Since  then  neither  Gale 
nor  Ware  had  communicated  with  Tom. 

"But  I  must  be  on  the  watch  against  them," 
thought  the  young  inventor.  "I'm  pretty  sure 
Gale  heard  me  mention  what  I  was  ~oing  to  try 
to  invent,  and  he  may  get  ahead  ot  me,  and  put 
a  silent  motor  on  the  market  first.  Not  that  I'm 
afraid  of  being  done  out  of  any  profits,  but  I 
simply  don't  want  to  be  beaten." 

(!1ie  details  of  Tom's  invention  cannot  be  gone 
into,  but,  roughly,  it  was  based  on  the  principle 
of  not  only  a  muffler  but  also  of  producing  less 
noise  when  the  charges  of  gasoline  exploded  in 
the  cylinders.  It  is,  of  course,  the  explosion  of 
gasoline  mixed  with  air  that  causes  an  internal 
combustion  engine  to  operate.  And  it  is  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  burned  gases  that  causes  the  ex- 
haust and  makes  the  noise  that  is  heard. 

.Tom  was  working  along  the  well-known  line 
of  the  rate  of  travel  of  sound,  which  progresses 
at  the  rate  of  about  1090  feet  a  second  when  air 
is  at  the  freezing  point.  And,  roughly,  with 
every  degree  increase  in  the  atmosphere's  tem- 
perature the  velocity  of  sound  increases  by  one 


THROUGH  THE  ROOF  69 

foot.  Thus  at  a  temperature  of  100  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  or  68  degrees  above  freezing,  there 
would  be  added  to  the  1090  feet  the  68  feet,  mak- 
ing sound  travel  at  100  degrees  Fahrenheit  about 
1158  feet  a  second. 

Tom  had  set  up  in  his  shop  a  powerful,  but 
not  very  speedy,  old  aeroplane  engine,  and  had 
attached  to  it  the  device  he  hoped  would  help 
him  toward  solving  his  problem  of  cutting  down 
the  noise.  He  had  had  some  success  with  it,  and, 
after  days  and  nights  of  labor,  he  invited  his 
father  and  Ned,  as  well  as  Mr.  Damon,  over  to 
see  what  he  hoped  would  be  a  final  experiment. 

His  visitors  had  assembled  in  the  shop,  and 
Eradicate  was  setting  out  some  refreshments 
which  Tom  had  provided,  the  colored  man  being 
in  his  element  now. 

"What's  all  this  figuring,  Tom?"  asked  Mr. 
Damon,  as  he  saw  a  series  of  calculations  on  some 
sheets  of  paper  lying  on  Tom's  desk. 

"That's  where  I  worked  out  how  much  faster 
sound  traveled  in  hydrogen  gas  than  in  the  ordi- 
nary atmosphere,"  was  the  answer.  "It  goes 
about  four  times  as  fast,  or  nearly  four  thousand 
two  hundred  feet  a  second.  You  remember  the 
rule,  I  suppose.  'The  speed  of  sonorous  vibra- 
tions through  gases  varies  inversely  as  the  squares 
of  the  weights  of  equal  volumes  of  the  gases/ 
or,  in  other  words " 


70  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"Give  it  to  us  chiefly  in  'other  words/  if  you 
please,  Tom !"  pleaded  Ned,  with  a  laugh.  "Let 
that  go  and  do  some  tricks.  Start  the  engine  and 
let's  see  if  we  can  hear  it" 

"Oh,  you  can  hear  it  all  right/'  said  Tom,  as 
he  approached  the  motor,  which  was  mounted  on 
a  testing  block.  "The  thing  isn't  perfected  yet, 
but  I  hope  to  have  it  soon.  Rad !  Where  is  that 
black  rascal?  Oh,  there  you  are!  Come  here^ 
Rad!" 

"Yaas  sah,  Massa  Tom!  Is  I  gwine  to  help 
yo'  all  in  dish  yeah  job?" 

"Yes.  Just  take  hold  of  this  lever,  and  when 
I  say  so  pull  it  as  hard  as  you  can." 

"Dat's  whut  I  will,  Massa  Tom.  Golly!  ef 
dat  no  'count  giant  was  heah  now  he'd  see  he 
ain't  de  only  one  whut's  got  muscle.  I'll  pull 
good  an'  hard,  Massa  Tom." 

"Yes,  that's  what  I  want  you  to.  Now  I  guess 
we're  all  ready.  Can  you  see,  Dad — and  Ned  and 
Mr.  Damon?" 

"Yes,"  they  answered.  They  stood  near  the 
side  wall  of  the  shop,  while  Tom  and  Eradicate 
were  at  the  testing  block,  on  which  the  motor, 
with  the  noise-eliminating  devices  attached,  had 
been  temporarily  mounted. 

"All  ready,"  called  the  young  inventor,  as  he 
turned  on  the  gas  and  threw  over  the  electrical 
switch.  "All  ready!  Pull  the  starting  lever,  Rad 


THROUGH  THE  ROOF  71 

And  when  it's  been  running  a  little  I'll  throw  on 
the  silencer  and  you  can  see  the  difference." 

The  motor  began  to  hum,  and  there  was  a 
deafening  roar,  just  as  there  always  is  when  the 
engine  of  an  aeroplane  starts.  It  was  as  though 
half  a  dozen  automobile  engines  were  being  run 
with  the  mufflers  cut  out 

"Now  I'll  show  you  the  difference!"  yelled 
|Tom,  though  such  was  the  noise  that  not  a  word 
could  be  heard.  "This  shows  you  what  my  si- 
lencer will  do." 

Tom  pulled  another  lever.  There  was  at  once 
a  cessation  of  the  deafening  racket,  though  it  was 
not  altogether  ended.  Then,  after  a  moment  or 
two,  there  suddenly  came  a  roar  as  though  a  blast 
had  been  let  off  in  the  shop. 

Tom  and  Eradicate  were  tossed  backward, 
head  over  heels,  as  though  by  the  giant  hands  of 
Koku  himself,  and  Mr.  Damon,  Ned,  and  Tom's 
father  saw  the  motor  fly  from  the  testing  block 
and  shoot  through  the  roof  of  the  building  with 
a  rending,  crashing,  and  splintering  sound  that 
could  be  heard  for  a  mile. 


(CHAPTER  IX 

AFTER  A  SPY 

CURIOUS  as  it  may  seem,  Eradicate,  the  oldest 
and  certainly  not  the  most  energetic  of  the  party 
assembled  in  the  experiment  room,  was  the  first 
to  recover  himself  and  arise.  Tottering  to  his 
feet  he  gave  one  look  at  the  testing  block,  whence 
the  motor  had  torn  itself.  Then  he  looked  at  the 
prostrate  figures  around  him,  none  of  them  hurt, 
Jbut  all  stunned  and  very  much  startled.  Then 
the  gaze  of  Eradicate  traveled  to  the  hole  in  the 
roof.  It  was  a  gaping,  ragged  hole,  for  the 
motor  was  heavy  and  the  roof  of  flimsy  material. 
And  then  the  colored  man  exclaimed : 

"Good  land  ob  massy!    Did  I  do  dat?" 

His  tone  was  one  of  such  startled  contrition, 
and  so  tragic,  that  Tom  Swift,  rueful  as  he  felt 
over  the  failure  of  his  experiment  and  the  dan- 
ger they  had  all  been  in,  could  not  help 
laughing. 

"I  take  it,  hearing  that  from  you,  Tom,  that 
we're  all  right/'  said  Ned  Newton,  as  he  recoy- 

72 


AFTER  A  SPY  73 

ered  himself  and  brushed  some  dirt  off  his  coat; 
Ned  was  a  natty  dresser. 

"Yes,  we  seem  to  be  all  right,"  replied  Ton! 
slowly.  "I  can't  say  what  damage  the  flying 
motor  has  done  outside,  but " 

"Bless  my  insurance  policy!  but  what  hap- 
pened?" asked  Mr.  Damon.  "I  saw  Eradicate 
pull  on  that  lever  as  you  told  him  to,  Tom,  and 
then  things  all  went  topsy-turvy !  Did  he  pull  the 
wrong  handle?" 

"No,  it  wasn't  Rad's  fault  at  all,"  said  Tom, 
"The  trouble  was,  as  I  guess  Til  find  when  I  in- 
vestigate, that  I  put  too  much  power  into  the 
motor,  and  the  muffler  didn't  give  any  chance  for 
the  accumulated  exhaust  gases  to  expand  and  es- 
cape. I  didn't  allow  for  that,  and  they  simply 
backed  up,  compressed  and  exploded.  I  guess 
that's  the  whole  explanation." 

"I'm  inclined  to  agree  with  you,  Son,"  said 
Mr.  Swift  dryly.  "Don't  try  to  get  rid  of  all 
the  noise  at  once.  Eliminate  it  by  degrees  and 
it  will  be  safer." 

"I  guess  so,"  agreed  Tom. 

By  this  time  a  score  of  workmen  from  tHe 
other  shops  had  congregated  around  the  one 
through  the  roof  of  which  the  motor  had  been 
blown.  Tom  opened  the  door  to  assure  Jackson 
and  the  others  that  no  one  was  hurt,  and  then  the 
young  inventor  saw  the  exploded  motor;  half 


74          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

buried  in  the  dirt  a  short  distance  away  from  the 
experiment  building. 

"Lucky  none  of  us  were  standing  over  it  when 
it  went  up,"  said  Tom,  as  he  made  an  inspection 
of  the  broken  machine.  "We'd  have  gone 
through  the  roof  with  it." 

"She  certainly  went  sailing!"  commented  Ned. 
"Must  have  been  a  lot  of  power  there,  Tom." 

And  this  was  evidenced  by  the  bent  and  twisted 
rods  that  had  held  the  motor  to  the  testing  block, 
and  by  the  cylinders,  some  of  which  were  torn 
apart  as  though  made  of  paper  instead  of 
heavy  steel.  But  for  the  fact  that  all  the  force 
of  the  explosion  was  directly  upward,  instead  of 
at  the  sides,  none  might  have  been  left  alive  in 
the  shop.  All  had  escaped  most  fortunately,  and 
they  realized  this. 

"Well,"  queried  Ned,  as  Tom  gave  orders  to 
have  the  damaged  machine  removed  and  the  roof 
repaired,  "does  this  end  the  wonderful  silent 
motor,  Tom?" 

"End  it!    What  do  you  mean?" 

"I  mean  are  you  going  to  experiment  any  fur- 
ther?" 

"Why,  of  course!  Just  because  I've  had  one 
failure  doesn't  mean  that  I'm  going  to  give  up. 
Especially  when  I  know  what  the  matter  was— 
not  leaving  any  vent  for  the  escaping  gases. 
\Vliy,  this  isn't  anything.  When  I  was  perfect- 


AFTER  A  SPY  75 

ing  my  giant  cannon  I  was  nearly  blown  up  more 
than  once,  and  you  remember  how  we  got  stuck 
in  the  submarine." 

"I  should  say  I  did!"  exclaimed  Ned  with  a 
shudder.  "I  don't  want  any  more  of  that.  But 
as  between  being  blown  through  a  roof  and  held 
at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  I  don't  know  that  there's 
much  choice." 

"Well,  perhaps  not,"  agreed  Tom.  "But  as 
for  ending  my  experiments,  I  wouldn't  dream  of 
such  a  thing!  Why,  I've  only  just  begun!  I'll 
have  a  silent  motor  yet !" 

"And  a  non-explosive  one,  I  hope,"  added 
Mr.  Damon  dryly.  "Bless  my  shoe  buttons, 
pTom,  but  if  my  wife  knew  what  danger  I'd  been 
in  she'd  never  let  me  come  over  to  see  you  any 
more." 

"Well,  the  next  time  I  invite  you  to  a  test  I'll 
)be  more  careful,"  promised  the  young  inventor. 

"There  isn't  going  to  be  any  next  time  as  far 
as  I'm  concerned!"  laughed  Ned.  "I  think  it's 
safer  to  sell  Liberty  Bonds." 

And,  though  they  joked  about  it,  they  all  real- 
ized the  narrow  escape  they  had  had.  As  for 
Eradicate,  once  he  knew  he  had  not  been  the  one 
who  caused  the  damage,  he  felt  rather  proud  of 
the  part  he  had  taken  in  the  mishap,  and  for 
many  days  he  boasted  about  it  to  Koku. 

True  to  his  determination,  Tom  Swift  did  not 


£6  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

give  up  his  experimental  work  on  the  silent  motor. 
[The  machine  that  had  been  blown  through  the 
roof  was  useless  now,  and  it  was  sent  to  the  scrap 
heap,  after  as  much  of  it  as  possible  had  been 
salvaged.  Then  Tom  got  another  piece  of  ap- 
paratus out  of  his  store  room  and  began  all  over 
again. 

He  worked  along  the  same  lines  as  at  first—* 
providing  a  chamber  for  the  escaping  gases  of 
the  exhaust  to  expend  their  noise  and  energy  in, 
at  the  same  time  laboring  to  cut  down  the  con- 
cussion of  the  explosions  in  the  cylinder  without 
reducing  their  force  any.  And  that  it  was  no  easy 
problem  to  do  either  of  these,  Tom  had  to  admit 
as  he  progressed.  All  previous  types  of  mufflers 
or  silencers  had  to  be  discarded  and  a  new  one 
evolved. 

"Jackson,  I  need  some  one  to  help  me/1  said 
|Tom  to  his  chief  mechanician  one  day.  "Haven't 
you  a  good  man  who  is  used  to  experimental  work 
that  you  can  let  me  take  from  the  works  ?" 

"Why,  yes,"  was  the  answer.  "Let  me  see. 
Roberts  is  busy  on  the  new  bomb  you  got  up,  but 
I  could  take  him  off  that " 

"No,  don't!"  interposed  Tom.  "I  want  that 
work  to  go  on.  Isn't  there  some  one  else  you 
can  let  me  have?" 

"Well,  there's  a  new  man  who  came  to  me 
recommended.  I  took  him  on  last  week,  and 


AFTER  A  SPY  77 

he's  a  wonderful  mechanic.  Knows  a  lot  about 
gas  engines.  I  could  let  you  have  him — Bower 
his  name  is.  The  only  thing  about  it,  though,  is 
that  I  don't  like  to  give  you  a  man  of  whom  I  am 
not  dead  certain,  when  you're  working  on  a  new 
device." 

"Oh,  that  will  be  all  right,"  said  Tom.  "There 
won't  be  any  secrets  he  can  get,  if  you  mean  you 
think  he  might  be  up  to  spy  work." 

"That's  what  I  did  mean,  Tom.  You  never 
can  tell,  you  know,  and  you  have  some  bitter 


enemies." 


"Yes,  but  I'll  take  care  this  man  doesn't  see 
the  plans,  or  any  of  my  drawings.  I  only  want 
some  one  to  do  the  heavy  assembling  work  on  the 
experimental  muffler  I'm  getting  up.  We  can  let 
him  think  it's  for  a  new  kind  of  automobile." 

"Oh,  then  I  guess  it  will  be  all  right  I'll  send 
Bower  to  you." 

Tom  rather  liked  the  new  workman,  who 
seemed  quiet  and  efficient.  He  did  not  ask  ques- 
tions, either,  about  the  machine  on  which  he  was 
engaged,  but  did  as  he  was  told.  As  Tom  had 
said,  he  kept  his  plans  and  drawing  under  lock 
and  key — in  a  safe  to  be  exact — and  he  did  not 
think  they  were  in  any  danger  from  his  new 
helper. 

But  Tom  Swift  held  into  altogether  too  slight 
regard  the  powers  of  those  who  were  opposed  to 


78  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

him.  He  did  not  appreciate  the  depths  to  which 
they  would  stoop  to  gain  their  ends. 

He  had  been  working  hard  on  his  new  device, 
and  had  reached  a  point  further  along  than  when 
the  other  motor  had  exploded.  He  began  to  see 
success  ahead  of  him,  and  he  was  jubilant. 
Whether  this  made  him  careless  does  not  matter, 
but  the  fact  was  that  he  left  Bower  more  to  him- 
self, and  alone  in  the  experimental  shop  several 
times. 

And  it  was  on  one  of  these  occasions,  when 
Tom  had  been  for  some  time  in  one  of  the  other 
shops,  where  he  and  Jackson  were  in  consultation 
over  a  new  machine,  that  as  he  came  back  to 
the  test  room  unexpectedly,  he  saw  Bower  move 
hastily  away  from  in  front  of  the  safe.  More- 
over, Tom  was  almost  certain  he  had  heard  the 
steel  door  clang  shut  as  he  approached  the  build- 
ing. 

And  then,  before  he  could  ask  his  helper  a 
question,  Tom  looked  from  a  window  and  saw 
a  stranger  running  hastily  along  the  side  of  the 
building  where  his  trial  motor  was  being  set  up. 

"Who's  that?  Who  is  that  man?  Did  he  come 
in  here?  Was  he  tampering  with  my  safe?" 
cried  Tom.  He  saw  Bower  hesitate  and  change 
color,  and  Tom  knew  it  was  time  to  act. 

The  window  was  open,  and  with  one  bound 
the  young  inventor  was  out  and  running  after  the 


AFTER  A  SPY  79 

stranger  he  had  seen  departing  in  such  a  hurry. 
The  man  was  but  a  short  distance  ahead  of  him, 
and  Tom  saw  he  was  stuffing  some  papers  into 
his  pocket. 

"Here!  Come  back!  Stop!"  ordered  Tom, 
but  the  man  ran  on  the  faster. 

"That's  a  spy  as  sure  as  guns !"  reflected  Tom 
Swift.  "And  Bower  is  in  with  him!"  he  added. 
"I've  got  to  catch  that  fellow!"  and  he  speeded 
his  pace  as  he  ran  after  the  fellow. 


CHAPTER  X 

A  BIG  SPLASH 

THERE  was  no  question  in  the  mind  of  Tom 
Swift  but  that  the  man  he  was  running  after  was 
guilty  of  some  wrong-doing.  In  the  first  place 
he  was  a  stranger,  and  had  no  right  inside  the 
big  fence  that  surrounded  the  Swift  machine 
plant.  Then,  too,  the  very  fact  that  he  ran  away 
was  suspicious. 

And  this,  coupled  with  the  confusion  on  the 
part  of  Bower,  and  his  proximity  to  the  safe, 
made  Tom  fear  that  some  of  his  plans  had  been 
stolen.  These  he  was  very  anxious  to  recover 
if  this  strange  man  had  them,  and  so  he  raced 
after  him  with  all  speed. 

"Stop !  Stop !"  called  Tom,  but  the  on-racing 
stranger  did  not  heed. 

The  cries  of  the  young  inventor  soon  attracted 
the  attention  of  his  men,  and  Jackson  and  some 
of  the  others  came  running  from  their  various 
shops  to  give  whatever  aid  was  needed.  But 
they  were  all  too  far  away  to  give  effective  chase. 

80 


A  BIG  SPLASH  §£ 

"Bower  might  have  come  with  me  if  he  had 
Jwanted  to  help,"  thought  Tom.  But  a  backward 
glance  over  his  shoulder  did  not  show  that  the 
new  helper  was  engaging  in  the  pursuit,  and  he 
could  have  started  almost  on  the  same  terms  as 
[Tom  himself. 

The  runaway,  looking  back  to  see  how  near 
the  young  inventor  was  to  him,  suddenly  changed 
his  course,  and,  noting  this,  Tom  Swift  thought : 

"I've  got  him  now!  He'll  be  bogged  if  he 
runs  that  way,"  for  the  way  led  to  a  piece  of 
swampy  land  that,  after  the  recent  rains,  was  a 
veritable  bog  which  was  dangerous  for  cattle  at 
least;  and  more  than  one  man  had  been  caught 
there. 

"He  can't  run  across  the  swamp,  that's  sure," 
reflected  Tom  with  some  satisfaction.  "I'll  get 
him  all  right!" 

But  he  wanted  to  capture  the  man,  if  pos- 
sible, before  he  reached  the  bog,  and,  to  this  end, 
Tom  increased  his  speed  to  such  good  end  that 
presently,  on  the  firm  ground  that  bordered  the 
swamp,  Tom  was  almost  within  reaching  dis- 
tance of  the  stranger. 

But  the  latter  kept  up  running,  and  dodged  and 
turned  so  that  Tom  could  not  lay  hands  on  him. 
Suddenly,  turning  around  a  clump  of  trees  the 
fleeing  man  headed  straight  for  a  veritable  mud 
hole  that  lay  directly  in  his  path.  It  was  part  of 


82  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

the  swamp — the  most  liquid  part  of  the  bog — j 
and  a  home  of  frogs  and  lizards. 

Too  late,  the  man,  who  was  evidently  unaware 
of  the  proximity  of  the  swamp,  saw  his  danger. 
His  further  flight  was  cut  off  by  the  mud  hole,  but 
it  was  too  late  to  turn  back.  Tom  Swift  was  at 
his  heels  now,  and  seeing  that  it  was  impossible 
to  grab  the  man,  Tom  did  the  next  best  thing. 
He  stuck  out  his  foot  and  tripped  him,  and  tripped 
him  right  on  the  edge  of  the  mud  hole,  so  that 
the  man  fell  in  with  a  big  splash,  the  muddy  water 
flying  all  around,  some  even  over  the  young  in- 
ventor. 

For  a  moment  the  man  disappeared  completely 
beneath  the  surface,  for  the  mud  hole  was  rather 
deep  just  where  Tom  had  thrown  him.  Then 
there  was  another  violent  agitation  of  the  sur- 
face, and  a  very  woebegone  and  muddy  face  was 
raised  from  the  slough,  followed  by  the  rest  of 
the  figure  of  the  man.  Slowly  he  got  to  his  feet, 
mud  and  water  dripping  from  him.  He  cleared 
his  face  by  rubbing  his  hands  over  it,  not  that  it 
made  his  countenance  clean,  but  it  removed 
masses  of  mud  from  his  eyes,  nose,  and  mouth, 
so  that  he  could  see  and  speak,  though  his  first 
operation  was  to  gasp  for  breath. 

"What — what  are  you  doin'  ?"  he  demanded  of 
Tom,  and  as  the  man  opened  his  mouth  to  speak 
Tom  was  aware  of  a  glitter,  which  disclosed  the 


A  BIG  SPLASH  83 

fact  that  the  man  had  a  large  front  tooth  of 
gold. 

"What  am  I  doing?"  repeated  Tom.  "I  think 
it's  up  to  you  to  answer  that  question,  not  me. 
What  are  you  doing?" 

"You — you  tripped  me  into  this  mud  hole!" 
declared  the  man. 

"I  did,  yes ;  because  you  were  trespassing  on  my 
property,  and  ran  away  instead  of  stopping  when 
I  told  you  to,"  went  on  Tom.  "Who  are  you 
and  what  are  you  doing?  What  were  you  doing 
with  Bower  at  my  shop?" 

"Nothin' !    I  wasn't  doin'  nothin' !" 

"Well,  we'll  inquire  into  that.  I  want  to  see 
what  you  have  in  your  pockets  before  I  believe 
you.  Come  on  out!" 

"You  haven't  any  right  to  go  through  my 
pockets!"  blustered  the  strange* '. 

"Oh,  haven't  I?  Well,  I'm  going  to  take  the 
right.  Jackson — Koku — just  see  that  he  doesn't 
get  away.  We'll  take  him  back  and  search  him," 
and  Tom  motioned  to  his  chief  machinist  and 
the  giant,  who  had  reached  the  scene,  to  take 
charge  of  the  man.  But  Koku  was  sufficient  for 
this  purpose,  and  the  mud-bespattered  stranger 
seemed  to  shrink  as  he  saw  the  big  creature  ap- 
proach him.  There  was  no  question  of  running 
away  after  that. 

"Bring  him  along,"  ordered  Tom,  and  Koku, 


84  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

taking  a  tight  grip  on  the  man  by  the  slaclc  of 
his  garments  behind,  walked  him  along  toward  the 
office,  the  mud  and  water  splashing  and  oozing 
from  his  shoes  at  every  step. 

"Now  you  look  here!"  the  gold-toothed  man 
cried,  as  he  was  forced  along,  "you  ain't  got  any 
right  to  detain  me.  I  ain't  done  nothin' !"  And 
each  time  he  spoke  the  bright  tooth  in  his  moutK 
glittered  in  the  sun. 

"I  don't  know  whether  you've  done  anything 
or  not,"  said  Tom.  "I'm  going  to  take  you  back 
and  see  what  you  and  Bower  have  to  say.  He 
may  know  something  about  this." 

"If  he  does  I  don't  believe  he'll  tell,"  said 
Jackson. 

"Why  not?"  asked  Tom,  quickly. 

"Because  he's  gone." 

"Gone!    Bower  gone?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Jackson.  "I  saw  him  running 
out  of  the  experiment  shop  as  we  raced  along  to 
help  you.  I  didn't  think,  at  the  time,  that  he  was 
doing  more  than  go  for  aid,  perhaps.  But  I  see 
the  game  now." 

"Oh,  you  mean — him?"  and  Tom  pointed  to  the 
dripping  figure. 

"Yes,"  said  Jackson  in  a  low  voice,  as  Koku 
went  on  ahead  with  his  prisoner.  "If,  as  you 
say,  this  man  was  in  league  with  Bower,  the  latter 
has  smelled  a  rat  and  skipped.  He  has  run  away, 


'A  BIG  SPLASft  8$ 

atid  I  only  hope  he  hasn't  done  any  damage  or 
got  hold  of  any  of  your  plans." 

"We'll  soon  know  about  that,"  said  Tom.  "I 
wonder  who  is  at  the  bottom  of  this?" 

"Maybe  those  men  you  wouldn't  work  for/* 
suggested  the  machinist. 

"You  mean  Gale  and  Ware  of  the  Universal 
Flying  Machine  Company  ?"j 

"Yes." 

"Oh,  I  don't  believe  they'd  stoop  to  any  sucK 
measures  as  this — sending  spies  around,"  replied 
Tom.  "But  I  can't  be  too  careful.  We'll  inves- 
tigate." 

The  first  result  of  the  investigation  was  to  dis- 
close the  fact  that  Bower  was  gone.  He  had 
taken  his  few  possessions  and  left  the  Swift 
plant  while  Tom  was  racing  after  the  stranger. 
A  hasty  examination  of  the  safe  did  not  reveal 
anything  missing,  as  Tom's  plans  and  papers 
were  intact.  But  they  showed  evidences  of  hav- 
ing been  looked  over,  for  they  were  out  of  the 
regular  order  in  which  the  young  inventor  kept 
them. 

"I  begin  to  see  it,"  said  Tom,  musingly. 
"Bower  must  have  managed  to  open  the  safe 
while  I  was  gone,  and  he  must  have  made  a  hasty 
copy  of  some  of  the  drawings  of  the  silent  motor, 
and  passed  them  out  of  the  window  to  this  gold- 
tooth  man,  who  tried  to  make  off  with  them. 


86  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

Did  you  find  anything  on  him?"  he  asked,  as  one 
of  the  men  who  had  been  instructed  to  search 
the  stranger  came  into  the  office  just  then. 

"Not  a  thing,  Mr.  Swift!  Not  a  thing!"  was 
the  answer.  "We  took  off  every  bit  of  his  clothes 
and  wrapped  him  in  a  blanket.  He's  in  the  en- 
gine room  getting  dry  now.  But  there  isn't  a 
thing  in  any  of  his  pockets." 

"But  I  saw  him  stuffing  some  papers  in  as  he 
ran  away  from  me,"  said  Tom.  "We  must  be 
sure  about  this.  And  don't  let  the  fellow  get 
away  until  I  question  him." 

"Oh,  he's  safe  enough,"  answered  the  man. 
"Koku  is  guarding  him.  He  won't  get  away." 

"Then  I'll  have  a  look  at  his  clothes,"  decided 
Tom.  "He  may  have  a  secret  pocket." 

But  nothing  like  this  was  disclosed,  and  the 
most  careful  search  did  not  reveal  anything  in- 
criminating in  the  man's  garments. 

"He  might  have  thrown  away  any  papers 
Bower  gave  him,"  said  Tom.  "Maybe  they're 
at  the  bottom  of  the  mud  hole!  If  they're  there 
they're  safe  enough.  But  have  a  search  made 
of  the  ground  where  this  man  ran." 

This  was  done,  but  without  result.  Some  of 
the  workmen  even  dragged  the  mud  hole  without 
finding  anything.  Then  Tom  and  his  father  had 
a  talk  with  the  stranger,  who  refused  to  give  his 
name.  The  man  was  sullen  and  angry.  He  talked 


'A  BIG  SPLASH  87 

loudly  about  his  innocence  and  of  "having  the 
law  on"  Tom  for  having  tripped  him  into  the 
mud. 

"All  right,  if  you  want  to  make  a  complaint,  go 
ahead,"  said  the  young  inventor.  "I'll  make  one 
against  you  for  trespass.  Why  did  you  come 
on  my  grounds  ?" 

"I  was  going  to  ask  for  work.  I'm  a  good  ma- 
chinist and  I  wanted  a  job." 

"How  did  you  get  in?  Who  admitted  you  at 
the  gate?" 

"I — I  jest  walked  in,"  said  the  man,  but  Tom 
knew  this  could  not  be  true,  as  no  strangers  were 
admitted  without  a  permit  and  none  had  been 
issued.  The  man  denied  knowing  anything  about 
Bower,  but  the  latter's  flight  was  evidence  enough 
that  something  was  wrong. 

Not  wishing  to  go  to  the  trouble  of  having  the 
man  arrested  merely  as  a  trespasser,  Tom  let  him 
go  after  his  clothes  had  been  dried  on  a  boiler  in 
one  of  the  shops. 

"Take  him  to  the  gate,  and  tell  him  if  he 
comes  back  he'll  get  another  dose  of  the  same 
kind  of  medicine,"  ordered  Tom  to  one  of  the 
guards  at  the  plant,  and  when  the  latter  had  re- 
ported that  this  had  been  done,  he  added  in  an 
earnest  tone : 

"He  went  off  talking  to  himself  and  saying 
he'd  get  even  with  you,  Mr.  Swift" 


88  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"All  right,"  said  Tom  easily.  "I'll  be  on  the 
watch." 

The  young  inventor  made  a  thorough  examina- 
tion of  his  experiment  shop  and  the  test  motor. 
No  damage  seemed  to  have  been  done,  and  Tom 
began  to  think  he  had  been  too  quick  for  the  con- 
spirators, if  such  they  were.  His  plans  and 
drawings  were  intact,  and  though  Bower  might 
have  given  a  copy  to  the  stranger  with  the  gold 
tooth,  the  latter  did  not  take  any  away  with  him. 
tThat  he  had  some  papers  he  wished  to  conceal 
and  escape  with,  seemed  certain,  but  the  splash 
into  the  mud  hole  had  ended  this. 

No  trace  was  found  of  Bower,  and  an  effort 
.Tom  made  to  ascertain  if  the  man  was  a  spy  in 
the  employ  of  Gare  and  Ware  came  to  naught. 
PThe  machinist  had  come  well  recommended,  and 
the  firm  where  he  was  last  employed  had  nothing 
but  good  to  say  of  him. 

"Well,  it's  a  mystery,"  decided  Tom.  "How- 
ever, I  got  out  of  it  pretty  well.  Only  if  that 
gold-tooth  individual  shows  up  again  he  won'<£ 
get  off  so  easily. 


CHAPTER  xi 

A   NIGHT  TRIP 

TAKING  a  lesson  from  what  had  happened, 
Tom  was  very  much  more  careful  in  the  follow- 
ing experiments  on  his  new,  silent  motor.  He 
made  some  changes  in  his  shop,  and  took  Jack- 
son in  to  help  on  the  new  machine,  thus  insur- 
ing perfect  secrecy  as  the  apparatus  developed. 

Tom  also  changed  the  safe  in  which  he  kept 
his  plans,  for  the  one  he  had  used  previous  to 
the  episode  in  which  Bower  and  the  stranger 
who  took  the  mud  bath  figured,  was  one  the 
combination  of  which  could  easily  be  ascertained 
by  an  expert.  The  new  safe  was  more  compli- 
cated, and  Tom  felt  that  his  plans,  specifications, 
and  formulae  which  he  had  worked  out  were  in 
less  danger. 

"I  can  just  about  figure  out  what  happened," 
said  Ned  Newton  to  Tom,  when  told  of  the  cir- 
cumstances. "These  Universal  people  were  pro- 
voked because  you  wouldn't  give  them  the  benefit 
of  your  experience  on  their  flying  machines,  and 

89 


90  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

so  they  sent  a  spy  to  get  work  with  you.  They, 
perhaps,  hoped  to  secure  some  of  your  ideas  for 
their  own,  or  they  may  have  had  a  deeper  mo- 
tive." 

"What  deeper  motive  could  they  have,  Ned?" 

"They  might  have  hoped  to  disable  you,  or 
some  of  your  machines,  so  that  you  couldn't  com- 
pete with  them.  They're  unscrupulous,  I  hear, 
and  will  do  anything  to  succeed  and  make  money. 
So  be  on  your  guard  against  them." 

"I  will,"  Tom  promised.  "But  I  don't  believe 
there's  any  more  danger  now.  Anyhow,  I  have 
to  take  some  chances." 

"Yes,  but  be  as  careful  as  you  can.  How  is  the 
silent  motor  coming  on?" 

"Pretty  good.  I've  had  a  lot  of  failures,  and 
the  thing  isn't  so  easy  as  I  at  first  imagined  it 
would  be.  Noise  is  a  funny  thing,  and  I'm  just 
beginning  to  understand  some  of  the  laws  of 
acoustics  we  learned  at  high  school.  But  I  think 
I'm  on  the  right  track  with  the  muffler  and  the 
cutting  down  of  the  noise  of  the  explosions  in 
the  cylinders.  I'm  working  both  ends,  you  see — 
making  a  motor  that  doesn't  cause  as  much  racket 
as  those  now  in  use,  and  also  providing  means 
to  take  care  of  the  noise  that  is  made.  It  isn't 
possible  to  make  a  completely  silent  motor  of  an 
explosive  gas  type.  The  only  thing  that  can  be 
done  is  to  kill  the  noise  after  it  is  made." 


A  NIGHT  TRIP  gi 

"What  about  the  propeller  blades?" 

"Oh,  they  aren't  giving  me  any  trouble.  The 
noise  they  make  can't  be  heard  a  hundred  feet  in 
the  air,  but  I  am  also  working  on  improvements 
to  the  blades.  Take  it  altogether,  I'll  have  an  al- 
most silent  aeroplane  if  my  plans  come  out  all 
right." 

"Have  you  said  anything  to  the  government 
yet?" 

"No;  I  want  to  have  it  pretty  well  perfected 
before  I  do.  Besides,  I  don't  want  any  publicity 
about  it  until  I'm  ready.  If  these  Universal  peo- 
ple are  after  me  I'll  fool  'em." 

"That's  right,  Tom!  Well,  I  must  go.  An- 
other week  of  this  Liberty  Bond  campaign !" 

"I  suppose  you'll  be  glad  when  it's  over." 

"Well,  I  don't  know,"  said  Ned  slowly.  "It's 
part  of  my  small  contribution  to  Uncle  Sam.  I'm 
not  like  you — I  can't  invent  things." 

"But  you  have  an  awful  smooth  line  of  talk, 
Ned!"  laughed  his  chum.  "I  believe  you  could 
sell  chloride  of  sodium  to  some  of  the  fishes  in 
the  Great  Salt  Lake— that  is  if  it  has  fishes." 

"I  don't  know  that  it  has,  Tom.  And,  any- 
how, I'm  not  posing  as  a  salt  salesman,"  and 
Ned  grinned.  "But  I  must  really  go.  Our  bank 
hasn't  reached  its  quota  in  the  sale  of  Liberty 
Bonds  yet,  and  it's  up  to  me  to  see  that  it  doesn't 
fall  down." 


92  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"Go  to  it,  Ned!  And  I'll  get  busy  on  my 
silent  motor." 

v    /'Getting  bus/'  was  Tom  Swift's  favorite  oc- 
-cupation,  and  when  he  was  working  on  a  new 
idea,  as  was  the  case  now,  he  was  seldom  idle, 
night  or  day. 

"I  have  hardly  seen  you  for  two  weeks,"  Mary 
Nestor  wrote  him  one  day.  "Aren't  you  ever 
coming  to  see  me  any  more,  or  take  me  for  g 
ride?" 

"Yes,"  Tom  wrote  back.  "I'll  be  over  soon. 
And  perhaps  on  the  next  ride  we  take  I  won't 
have  to  shout  at  you  through  a  speaking  tube 
because  the  motor  makes  so  much  noise." 

From  this  it  may  be  gathered  that  Tom  was 
on  the  verge  of  success.  While  not  altogether 
satisfied  with  his  progress,  the  young  inventor 
felt  that  he  was  on  the  right  track.  There  were 
certain  changes  that  needed  to  be  made  in  the 
apparatus  he  was  building — certain  refinements 
that  must  be  added,  and  when  this  should  be 
done  Tom  was  pretty  certain  that  he  would  have 
what  would  prove  to  be  a  very  quiet  aeroplane, 
if  not  an  absolutely  silent  one. 

The  young  inventor  was  engaged  one  day  witH 
some  of  the  last  details  of  the  experiment.  The 
new  motor,  with  the  silencer  and  the  changed 
cylinders,  had  been  attached  to  one  of  Tom's 
speedy  aeroplanes,  and  he  was  making  some  in- 


A  NIGHT  TRIP  93 

tricate  calculations  in  relation  to  a  new  cylinder 
block,  to  be  used  when  he  started  to  make  a 
completely  new  machine  of  the  improved  type. 

CTom  had  set  down  on  paper  some  computa- 
tions regarding  the  cross-section  of  one  of  the 
cylinders,  and  was  working  out  the  amount  of 
stress  to  which  he  could  subject  a  shoulder  strut, 
when  a  shadow  was  cast  across  the  drawing 
board  he  had  propped  up  in  his  lap. 

In  an  instant  Tom  pulled  a  blank  sheet  over 
his  mass  of  figures  and  looked  up,  a  sudden  fear 
coming  over  him  that  another  spy  was  at  hand. 
But  a  hearty  voice  reassured  him. 

"Bless  my  rice  pudding!"  cried  Mr.  Damon, 
"you  shut  yourself  up  here,  Tom,  like  a  hermit 
in  the  mountains.  Why  don't  you  come  out  and 
enjoy  life?" 

"Hello!  Glad  to  see  you!"  cried  Tom,  joy- 
fully. "You're  just  in  time!" 

"Time  for  what — dinner?"  asked  the  eccentric 
man,  with  a  chuckle.  "If  so,  my  reference  to 
rice  pudding  was  very  proper." 

"Why,  yes,  I  imagine  there  must  be  a  dinner 
in  prospect  somewhere,  Mr.  Damon,"  said  Tom 
with  a  smile.  "We'll  have  to  see  Mrs.  Baggert 
about  that.  But  what  I  meant  was  that  you're 
just  in  time  to  have  a  ride  with  me,  if  you  want 
to  go." 

"Go  where?" 


94  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"Oh,  up  in  cloudland.  I  have  just  finished  my 
first  sample  of  a  silent  motor,  and  I'm  going  to 
try  it  this  evening.  Would  you  like  to  come 
along?" 

"I  would !"  exclaimed  Mr.  Damon.  "Bless  my 
onion  soup,  Tom,  but  I  would !  But  why  fly  at 
night?  Isn't  it  safer  by  daylight?" 

"Oh,  that  doesn't  make  much  difference.  It's 
safe  enough  at  any  time.  The  reason  I'm  going 
to  make  my  first  flight  after  dark  is  that  I  don't 
want  any  spies  about." 

"Oh,  I  see !    Are  they  camping  on  your  trail?" 

"Not  exactly.  But  I  can't  tell  where  they  may 
be.  If  I  should  start  out  in  daylight  and  be 

forced  to  make  a  landing Well,  you  know 

what  a  crowd  always  collects  to  see  a  stranded 
airship." 

"That's  right,  Tom." 

"That  decided  me  to  start  off  after  dark.  Then 
if  we  have  to  come  down  because  of  some  sort 
of  engine  trouble  or  because  my  new  attachment 
doesn't  work  right,  we  sha'n't  have  any  prying 
eyes." 

"I  see!  Well,  Tom,  I'll  go  with  you.  Fortu- 
nately I  didn't  tell  my  wife  where  I  was  going 
when  I  started  out  this  afternoon,  so  she  won't 
worry  until  after  it's  over,  and  then  it  won't  hurt 
her.  I'm  ready  any  time  you  are." 

"Good!     Stay  to  dinner  and  I'll  show  you 


A  NIGHT  TRIP  95 

what  I've  made.  Then  we'll  take  a  flight  after 
dark/' 

This  suited  the  eccentric  man,  and  a  little  later, 
after  he  had  eaten  one  of  Mrs.  Baggert's  best 
meals,  including  rice  pudding,  of  which  he  was 
very  fond,  Mr.  Damon  accompanied  Tom  to  one 
of  the  big  hangars  where  the  new  aeroplane  had 
been  set  up. 

"So  that's  the  Air  Scout,  is  it,  Tom?"  asked 
Mr.  Damon,  as  he  viewed  the  machine. 

"Yes,  that's  the  girl.  'Air  Scout'  is  as  good  a 
name  as  any,  until  I  see  what  she'll  do." 

"It  doesn't  look  different  from  one  of  your 
regular  craft  of  the  skies,  Tom." 

"No,  she  isn't.  The  main  difference  is  here," 
and  Tom  showed  his  friend  where  a  peculiar  ap- 
paratus had  been  attached  to  the  motor.  This 
was  the  silencer — the  whole  secret  of  the  invert 
tion,  so  to  speak. 

To  Mr.  Damon  it  seemed  to  consist  of  an 
amazing  collection  of  pipes,  valves,  baffle-plates, 
chambers,  cylinders  and  reducers,  which  took  the 
hot  exhaust  gases  as  they  came  from  the  motor 
and  "ate  them  up,"  as  he  expressed  it. 

"The  cylinders,  too,  and  the  spark  plugs  are 
differently  arranged  in  the  motor  itself,  if  you 
could  see  them,"  said  Tom  to  his  friend.  "But 
the  main  work  of  cutting  down  the  noise  is  done 
right  here,"  and  he  put  his  hand  on  the  steel  case 


96  TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

attached  to  the  motor,  the  case  containing  the 
apparatus  already  briefly  described. 

"Well,  I'm  ready  when  you  are,  Tom,"  said 
Mr.  Damon. 

"We'll  go  as  soon  as  it's  dark,"  was  the  re- 
ply. "But  first  I'll  give  you  a  demonstration. 
Start  the  motor,  Jackson!"  Tom  called  to  his 
chief  helper. 

Mr.  Damon  had 'ridden  in  aeroplanes  before, 
and  had  stood  near  when  Tom  started  them ;  so 
he  was  prepared  for  a  great  rush  of  air  as  the 
propellers  whirled  about,  and  for  deafening  ex- 
plosions from  the  engine. 

The  big  blades,  of  new  construction,  were 
turned  until  the  gas  in  the  cylinders  was  suffi- 
ciently compressed.  Then  Jackson  stepped  back 
out  of  danger  while  Tom  threw  over  the  switch. 

"Contact!"  cried  the  young  inventor. 

Jackson  gave  the  blades  a  quarter  pull,  and,  a 
moment  later,  as  he  leaped  back  out  of  the  way, 
they  began  to  revolve  with  the  swiftness  of  light. 
There  was  the  familiar  rush  of  air  as  the  wooden 
wings  cut  through  the  atmosphere,  but  there  was 
scarcely  any  noise.  Mr.  Damon  could  hardly  be- 
lieve his  ears. 

"I'm  not  running  her  at  full  speed,"  said  Tom. 
"If  I  did  she'd  tear  loose  from  the  holding 
blocks.  But  you  can  see  what  little  racket  she 
makes." 


^      'A  NIGHT  TRIP  97^ 

"Bless  my  fountain  pen!*'  cried  Mr.  Damon. 
"You  are  right,  Tom  Swift!  Why,  I  can  hear 
you  talk  almost  as  easily  as  if  no  engine  were 
going.  And  I  don't  have  to  shout  my  head  off, 
either." 

This  was  perfectly  true.  Tom  could  converse 
with  Mr.  Damon  in  almost  ordinary  tones.  The 
exhaust  from  the  motor  was  nearly  completely 
muffled. 

"Out  in  the  air  it  will  seem  even  more  quiet," 
said  Tom.  "I'll  soon  give  you  a  chance  to  verify 
that  statement." 

He  ran  the  engine  a  little  longer,  the  aero- 
plane quivering  with  the  vibrations,  but  remain- 
ing almost  silent. 

"I'm  anxious  to  see  what  she'll  do  when  in 
motion,"  said  Tom,  as  he  shut  off  the  gas  and 
spark. 

Soon  after  supper,  when  the  shades  of  evening 
were  falling,  he  and  Mr.  Damon  took  their 
places  in  the  first  of  the  Air  Scouts,  to  give  it  the 
preliminary  test  in  actual  flying. 

Would  Tom's  hopes  be  justified  or  would  he 
}>e  disappointed? 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    CRY    FOR    HELP 

"ALL  ready,  Mr.  Damon?"  asked  Tom,  as  he 
looked  to  see  that  all  the  levers,  wheels,  valves, 
and  other  controls  were  in  working  order  on  his 
Air  Scout. 

"As  ready  as  I  ever  shall  be,  Tom,"  was  the 
answer.  "I  don't  know  why  it  is,  but  somehow 
I  feel  that  something  is  going  to  happen  on  this 
trip." 

"Nonsense!"  kughed  Tom.  "You're  nervous; 
that's  all" 

"I  suppose  so.  Don't  think  I'm  going  to  back 
out,  or  anything  like  that,  but  I  wish  it  were 
successfully  over  with,  Tom  Swift,  I  most  cer- 
tainly do." 

"It  will  be  in  a  little  while,"  returned  Tom,  as 
he  settled  himself  comfortably  in  his  seat  and 
pulled  the  safety  strap  tight.  "You've  gone  up 
in  this  same  plane  before,  when  it  didn't  have 
the  silent  motor  aboard." 

"Yes,  I  know  I  have.  Oh,  I  dare  say  it  will 
98 


THE  CRY  FOR  HELP  99 

be  all  right,  Tom.     And  yet,  somehow,  I  can't 
help  feeling " 

But  Tom  Swift  felt  that  the  best  way  to  set 
Mr.  Damon's  premonitions  to  rest  was  to  start 
the  motor,  and  this  he  gave  orders  to  have  done, 
Jackson  and  some  others  of  the  men  from  the 
shops  congregating  about  the  craft  to  see  the  be- 
ginning of  the  night  flight.  Mr.  Swift  was  there 
also,  and  Eradicate.  Mary  Nestor  had  been  in- 
vited, but  her  Red  Cross  work  engaged  her  that 
evening,  she  said.  Ned  Newton  was  away  from 
town  on  Liberty  Bond  business,  and  he  could  not 
be  present  at  the  test. 

However,  as  Tom  expected  to  have  other  trials 
jvhen  his  motor  was  in  even  better  shape,  he  was 
not  exactly  sorry  for  the  absence  of  his  friends. 

"Contact!"  called  the  young  inventor,  when 
Jackson  had  stepped  back,  indicating  it  was  time 
to  throw  over  the  switch. 

"Let  her  go!"  cried  Tom,  and  the  next  mo- 
ment the  motor  was  in  operation,  but  so  silently 
that  his  voice  and  that  of  Mr.  Damon's  could 
easily  be  heard  above  the  machinery. 

"Good,  Tom!  That's  good!"  cried  Mr.  Swift, 
and  Tom  easily  heard  his  father's  voice,  though 
under  other,  and  ordinary,  circumstances  this 
would  have  been  impossible. 

True,  the  hearing  of  Tom  and  Mr.  Damon 
was  muffled  to  a  certain  extent  by  the  heavy 


100         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

leather  and  fur-lined  caps  they  wore.  But  Toni 
had  several  small  eyelet  holes  set  into  the  flaps 
just  over  the  opening  of  the  ears,  and  these  holes 
were  sufficient  to  admit  sounds,  while  keeping 
out  most  of  the  cold  that  obtains  in  the  upper 
regions. 

The  aeroplane  moved  swiftly  along  the  level 
starting  ground,  and  away  from  the  lighted  han- 
gars. Faster  and  faster  it  swung  along  as  Tom 
headed  it  into  the  wind,  and  then,  as  the  speed 
of  the  motor  increased,  the  Air  Scout  suddenly 
left  the  earth  and  went  soaring  aloft  as  she  had 
done  before. 

But  there  was  this  difference.  She  moved  al- 
most as  silently  as  a  great  owl  which  swoops 
down  out  of  the  darkness — a  bit  of  the  velvety 
blackness  itself.  Up  and  up,  and  onward  and 
onward,  went  the  Air  Scout.  Tom  Swift's  im- 
proved, silent  motor  urged  it  onward,  and  as  the 
young  inventor  listened  to  catch  the  noise  of  the 
machinery,  his  heart  gave  a  bound  of  hope.  For 
he  could  detect  only  very  slight  sounds. 

"She's  a  success!"  exulted  Tom  to  himself. 
"She's  a  success,  but  she  isn't  perfect  yet,"  he 
added.  "I've  got  to  make  the  muffler  bigger  and 
put  in  more  baffle-plates.  Then  I  think  I  can  turn 
the  trick." 

He  swung  the  machine  out  over  the  open  coun- 
try, and  then,  when  they  were  up  at  a 


THE  CRY  FOR  HELP  101 

height  and  sailing  along  easily,  he  called  back 
to  Mr.  Damon  in  the  seat  behind  him: 

"How  do  you  like  it?" 

"Great !"  exclaimed  the  eccentric  man.  "Bless 
my  postage  stamp,  but  it's  great!  Why,  there's 
hardly  a  sound,  Tom,  and  I  can  hear  you  quite 
easily." 

"And  I  can  hear  you,"  added  Tom.  "I  don't 
believe,  down  below  there,"  and  he  nodded  toward 
the  earth,  though  Mr.  Damon  could  not  see  this, 
as  the  airship,  save  for  a  tiny  light  over  the  in- 
strument board,  was  in  darkness,  "they  know 
that  we're  flying  over  their  heads." 

"I  agree  with  you,"  was  the  answer.  "Tom, 
my  boy,  I  believe  you've  solved  the  trick!  You 
have  produced  a  silent  aeroplane,  and  now  it's 
up  to  the  government  to  make  use  of  it." 

"I'm  not  quite  ready  for  that  yet,"  replied  the 
young  inventor.  "I  have  several  improvements 
to  make.  But,  when  they  are  finished,  I'll  let 
Uncle  Sam  know  what  I  have.  Then  it's  up  to 
him." 

"And  you  must  be  careful,  Tom,  that  some  of 
your  rivals  don't  hear  of  your  success  and  get  it 
away  from  you,"  warned  Mr.  Damon,  as  Tom 
guided  the  Air  Scout  along  the  aerial  way — an 
unlighted  and  limitless  path  in  the  silent  dark- 
ness. 

"Oh,  they'll  have  to  get  up  pretty  early  in  the 


102         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

morning  to  do  that!"  boasted  Tom,  and  after- 
ward he  was  to  recall  those  words  with  a  bit  of 
chagrin. 

On  and  on  they  sailed,  and  as  Tom  increased 
the  speed  of  the  motor,  and  noted  how  silently  it 
ran,  he  began  to  have  high  hopes  that  he  had 
builded  better  than  he  knew.  For  even  with  the 
motor  running  at  almost  full  speed  there  was  not 
noise  enough  to  hinder  talk  between  himself  and 
Mr.  Damon. 

Of  course  there  was  some  little  sound.  Even 
the  most  perfect  electric  motor  has  a  sort  of  hum 
which  can  be  detected  when  one  is  close  to  it. 
But  at  a  little  distance  a  great  dynamo  in  oper- 
ation appears  to  be  silence  itself. 

"I  can  go  this  one  better,  though,"  said  Tom 
as  he  sailed  along  in  the  night.  "I  see  where  Fve 
made  a  few  mistakes  in  the  baffle  plate  of  the 
silencer.  I'll  correct  that  and " 

As  he  spoke  the  machine  gave  a  lurch,  and  the 
motor,  instead  of  remaining  silent,  began  to 
cough  and  splutter  as  in  the  former  days. 

"Bless  my  rubber  boots,  Tom !  what's  the  mat- 
ter?" cried  Mr.  Damon. 

"Something's  gone  wrong,"  Tom  answered, 
barely  able  to  hear  and  make  himself  heard 
above  the  sudden  noise.  "I'll  have  to  shut  off 
the  power  and  glide  down.  We  can  make  a 
landing  in  this  big  field,"  for  just  then  the  moon 


THE  CRY  FOR  HELP  103 

came  out  from  behind  a  cloud,  and  Tom  saw, 
below  them,  a  great  meadow,  not  far  from  the 
home  of  Mary  Nestor.  He  had  often  landed 
in  this  same  place. 

"Something  has  broken  in  the  muffler,  I  think, 
letting  out  some  of  the  exhaust,"  he  said  to  Mr. 
Damon,  for,  now  that  the  motor  was  shut  off, 
Tom  could  speak  in  his  ordinary  tones.  "I'll 
soon  have  it  fixed,  or,  if  I  can't,  we  can  go  back 
in  the  old  style — with  the  machine  making  as 
jnuch  racket  as  it  pleases." 

So  Tom  guided  the  machine  down.  It  went 
silently  now,  of  course,  making,  with  the  motor 
shut  off,  no  more  sound  than  a  falling  leaf. 
Down  to  the  soft,  springy  turf  in  the  green 
meadow  Tom  guided  the  machine.  As  it  came 
to  a  stop,  and  he  and  Mr.  Damon  got  out,  there 
was  borne  to  their  ears  a  wild  cry,: 

"Help!    Help!" 


CHAPTER  XIII 

'SOMETHING  QUEER 

"Dio  you  hear  that?"  asked  Tom  Swift  of  his 
companion. 

"Hear  it?  Bless  my  ear  drums,  I  should  say 
I  did  hear  it!  Some  one  is  in  trouble,  Tom. 
Caught  in  a  bog,  most  likely,  the  same  as  that 
spy  chap  who  was  at  your  place.  That's  it — * 
caught  in  a  bog!" 

"There  isn't  any  bog  or  swamp  around  here, 
Mr.  Damon.  If  there  was  I  shouldn't  have  tried 
a  landing.  No,  it's  something  else  besides  that. 
Hark!" 

Again  the  cry  sounded,  seeming  to  come  from 
a  point  behind  the  landing  place  of  the  silent 
airship.  It  was  clear  and  distinct: 

"Help!     Help!     They  are " 

The  voice  seemed  to  die  away  in  a  gurgle,  as 
though  the  person's  mouth  had  been  covered 
quickly. 

"He's  sinking,  Tom!  He's  sinking!"  cried 
Mr.  Damon.  "I  once  heard  a  man  who  almost 

104 


SOMETHING  QUEER  105 

drowned  cry  out,  and  it  sounded  exactly  like 
that!" 

"But  there  isn't  any  water  around  here  for 
any  one  to  drown  in,"  declared  Tom.  "It's  9 
big,  dry  meadow.  I  know  where  we  are." 

"Then  what  is  it?" 

"I  don't  know,  but  we're  going  to  find  out. 
Some  one  attacked  by  some  one  else — or  some- 
thing, I  should  say,"  ventured  the  young  invent- 
or. 

"Something!  do  you  mean  a  wild  beast,  Tom?" 

"No,  for  there  aren't  any  of  those  here  any 
tnore  than  there  is  water.  Though  it  may  be  that 
some  farmer's  bull  or  a  savage  dog  has  got  loose 
and  has  attacked  some  traveler.  But,  in  that  case 
I  think  we  would  hear  bellows  or  barks,  and  all 
I  heard  was  a  cry  for  help." 

"The  same  with  me,  Tom.    Let's  investigate." 

"That's  what  I  intend  doing.  Come  on.  The 
airship  will  be  all  right  until  we  come  back." 

"Better  take  a  light— hadn't  you?  It's  dark, 
even  if  the  moon  does  show  now  and  then,"  sug- 
gested Mr.  Damon. 

"Guess  you  are  right,"  agreed  Tom.  Aboard 
his  airship  there  were  several  small  but  powerful 
portable  electric  lights,  and  after  securing  one  of 
these  Tom  and  Mr.  Damon  started  for  the  spot 
whence  the  call  for  help  had  come.  As  they  walk- 
ed along,  their  feet  making  no  noise  OB  the  soft 


106         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

turf,  they  listened  intently  for  a  repetition  of  the 
call  for  aid. 

"I  don't  hear  anything,"  said  Tom,  after  a  bit. 

"Nor  I,"  added  Mr.  Damon.  "We  don't  know 
exactly  which  way  to  go,  Tom." 

"That's  right.  Guess  we'd  better  give  him  a 
hail ;  whoever  it  is." 

Tom  came  to  a  halt,  and  raising  his  voice  to 
a  shout  called : 

"Hello  there!  What's  the  matter ?  We'll  help 
you  if  you  can  tell  us  which  way  to  come!" 

They  both  listened  intently,  but  no  voice  an- 
swered them.  At  the  same  time,  however,  they 
were  aware  of  a  sound  as  of  hurrying  feet,  and 
there  seemed  to  be  muttered  imprecations  not  far 
away.  Tom  and  Mr.  Damon  looked  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  sound,  and  the  young  inventor  flashed 
his  light.  But  there  was  a  clump  of  bushes  and 
trees  at  that  point  and  the  electrical  rays  did  not 
penetrate  very  far. 

"Some  one's  over  there !"  exclaimed  Tom  in  fd 
whisper.  "We'd  better  go  and  see  what  it  is." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Mr.  Damon,  and  he,  too, 
spoke  in  a  low  voice. 

Why  they  did  this  when  their  previous  talk  had 
been  in  ordinary  tones,  and  when  Tom  had  shout- 
ed so  loudly,  they  did  not  stop  to  reason  about 
or  explain  just  then.  But  later  they  both  ad- 
mitted that  they  whispered  because  they  thought 


SOMETHING  QUEER  107 

there  was  something  wrong  on  foot — because  they 
feared  a  crime  was  being  committed  and  they 
wanted  to  surprise  the  perpetrators  if  they  could. 

And  it  was  this  fact  of  their  whispering  that 
enabled  the  two  to  hear  something  that,  other- 
wise, they  might  not  have  heard.  And  this  was 
the  sound  of  some  vehicle  hurrying  away — an 
automobile,  if  Tom  was  any  judge.  The  cries 
for  help  had  been  succeeded  by  stifled  vocal 
sounds,  and  these,  in  turn,  by  the  noise  of  wheels 
on  the  ground. 

"What  does  it  all  mean?"  asked  Mr.  Damon 
in  a  whisper. 

"I  don't  know,"  answered  Tom,  resolutely, 
"but  we've  got  to  find  out.  Come  on !" 

They  advanced  toward  the  dark  clump  of  trees 
and  low  bushes.  There  was  no  need  to  be 
especially  cautious  in  regard  to  being  silent,  as 
their  feet  made  little,  if  any,  sound  on  the  deep 
grass.  And,  as  Tom  walked  in  advance,  now 
and  then  flashing  his  light,  Mr.  Damon  suddenly 
caught  him  by  the  coat. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  the  young  inventor. 

"Look!  Just  over  the  top  of  that  hill,  where 
the  moon  shines.  Don't  you  see  an  automobile 
outlined?" 

Tom  looked  quickly. 

"I  do,"  he  answered.  "There's  a  road  from 
here,  just  the  other  side  of  those  trees,  to  that  hill 


108         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

[The  auto  must  have  gone  that  way.  Well,  there's 
no  use  in  trying  to  follow  it  now.  Whoever  it 
was  has  gotten  away." 

"But  they  may  have  left  some  one  behind,  Tom. 
[We'd  better  look  in  and  around  those  trees." 

"I  suppose  we  had,  but  I  don't  believe  we'll  find 
anything.  I  can  pretty  nearly  guess,  now,  ;what 
it  was." 

"What?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"Well,  some  chauffeur  was  out  for  a  ride  in  his 
employer's  car  without  permission.  He  got  here, 
had  an  accident — maybe  some  friends  he  took  for 
a  ride  were  hurt  and  they  called  for  help.  The 
chauffeur  knew  if  there  was  any  publicity  he'd  be 
blamed,  and  so  he  got  away  as  quickly  as  he  could. 
Guess  the  accident — if  that's  what  it  was — didn't 
amount  to  much,  or  they  couldn't  have  run  the 
car  off.  We've  had  our  trouble  for  our  pains." 

"Well,  maybe  you're  right,  Tom  Swift,  but^ 
all  the  same,  I'd  like  to  have  a  look  among  those 
trees,"  said  Mr.  Damon. 

"Oh,  we'll  look,  all  right,"  assented  Tom,  "but 
I  doubt  if  we  find  anything." 

And  he  was  right.  They  walked  in  and  about 
the  little  grove,  flashing  the  light  at  intervals, 
but  beyond  marks  of  auto  wheels  in  the  dust  of 
.the  road,  which  was  near  the  clump  of  maples, 
there  was  nothing  to  indicate  what  had  happened. 

"Though  there  was  some  sort  of  fracas,"  de« 


SOMETHING  QUEER  109 

clared  Tom.  "Look  where  the  dust  is  trampled 
down.  There  were  several  men  here,  perhaps 
skylarking,  or  perhaps  it  was  a  fight." 

"Some  one  must  have  been  hurt,  or  they 
wouldn't  have  cried  for  help,"  said  Mr.  Damon. 

"Well,  that's  so.  But  perhaps  it  was  some  one 
not  used  to  riding  in  autos,  and  he  may  have 
imagined  the  accident  was  worse  than  it  was,  and 
called  for  help  involuntarily.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence of  any  serious  accident  having  happened — 
no  spots  of  blood,  at  any  rate,"  and  Tom  laughed 
at  his  own  grimness.  "It  was  a  new  car,  too,  or 
at  least  one  with  new  tires  on." 

"How  do  you  know  ?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"Tell  by  the  plain  marks  of  the  rubber  tread  in 
the  dust,"  was  the  answer.  "Look,"  and  Tom 
pointed  to  the  wheel  marks  in  the  focus  of  his 
electric  lamp.  "If  s  a  new  tire,  too,  with  square 
protuberences  on  the  tread  instead  of  the  usual 
diamond  or  round  ones.  A  new  kind  of  tire,  all 
right." 

He  and  Mr.  Damon  remained  for  a  few  minutes 
looking  about  the  pl?ce  whence  had  come  the  calls 
for  help,  and  then  the  eccentric  man  remarked: 

"Well,  as  long  as  we  can't  do  anything  here, 
Tom,  we  might  as  well  travel  on;  what  do  you 
say?" 

"I  agree  with  you.  There  isn't  any  use  in 
staying.  We'll  get  the  Air  Scout  fixed  up  and 


1 10         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

travel  back  home.  But  this  was  something 
queer,"  mused  Tom.  "I  hope  it  doesn't  turn  out 
later  that  a  crime  has  been  committed,  and  we 
didn't  show  enough  gumption  to  prevent  it." 

"We  couldn't  prevent  it.  We  heard  the  cries 
as  soon  as  we  landed." 

"Yes,  but  if  we  had  rushed  over  at  once  we 
might  have  caught  the  fellows.  But  I  guess  it 
was  only  a  slight  accident,  and  some  one  was  more 
frightened  than  hurt.  We'll  have  to  let  it  go  at 
that." 

But  the  more  he  thought  about  it  the  more  Tom 
Swift  thought  there  was  something  queer  in  that 
weird  cry  for  help  on  the  lonely  meadow  in  the 
darkness  of  the  night 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  TELEPHONE  CALL 

THE  defect  in  the  motor  which  had  caused  Tom 
Swift  to  shut  off  the  power  and  drift  down  to 
earth  was  soon  remedied,  once  the  young  in- 
ventor began  an  examination  of  the  craft.  One 
of  the  oil  feeds  had  become  choked  and  this  auto- 
matically cut  down  the  gasoline  supply,  causing 
one  or  more  cylinders  to  miss.  It  was  a  safety 
device  Tom  had  installed  to  prevent  the  motor 
running  dry,  and  so  being  damaged. 

Once  the  clogged  oil  feed  was  cleared  the  motor 
ran  as  before,  and  just  as  silently,  though,  as 
Tom  had  said,  he  was  not  entirely  satisfied  with 
the  quietness,  but  intended  to  do  further  work 
toward  perfecting  it. 

"I'll  start  the  propellers  now,  Mr.  Damon," 
said  Tom,  when  the  trouble  had  been  remedied. 
"You  know  how  to  throw  the  switch,  don't  you  ?" 

"I  guess  so,"  was  the  answer.  Mr.  Damon 
and  Tom  had  traveled  so  often  together  in  gas- 
oline craft  that  the  young  inventor  had  taught  his 

in 


TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

friend  certain  fundamentals  about  them,  and  in 
an  emergency  the  eccentric  man  could  help  start 
an  aeroplane.  This  he  now  did,  taking  charge 
of  the  controls  which  could  be  operated  from  his 
seat  as  well  as  from  Tom's.  Tom  whirled  the 
propellers,  and  soon  the  motor  was  in  motion. 

Mr.  Damon,  once  the  big  wooden  blades  were 
revolving,  slowed  down  the  apparatus  until  Tom 
could  jump  aboard,  after  which  the  latter  took 
charge  and  soon  speeded  up  the  machine,  send- 
ing it  aloft. 

As  the  green  meadow,  dimly  seen  in  the  light 
of  the  moon,  seemed  to  drop  away  below  them, 
and  the  clump  of  trees  vanished  from  sight,  both 
Tom  and  Mr.  Damon  wondered  who  it  was  that 
had  called  for  help,  and  if  the  matter  were  at  all 
serious.  They  were  inclined  to  think  it  was  not, 
but  Tom  could  not  rid  himself  of  a  faint  suspicion 
that  there  might  have  been  trouble. 

However,  thoughts  of  his  new  silent  Air  Scout 
soon  drove  everything  else  from  his  mind,  and  as 
he  guided  the  comparatively  silent  machine  on 
its  quiet  way  toward  his  own  home  he  was  think- 
ing how  he  could  best  improve  the  muffler. 

"Well,  here  we  are  again,  safe  and  sound," 
remarked  Tom,  as  he  brought  the  craft  to  a  stop 
in  front  of  the  hangar,  and  Jackson  and  his  help- 
ers, who  were  awaiting  the  return,  hurried  out 
to  take  eharge. 


THE  TELEPHONE  CALL 


"Yes,  everything  seems  to  point  to  success, 
Tom,"  agreed  Mr.  Damon.  "That  is,  unless  the 
slight  accident  we  had  means  trouble." 

"Oh,  no,  that  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  oper- 
ation of  the  silencer.  But  I'm  going  to  do  better 
yet.  Some  day  I'll  take  you  for  a  ride  in  a  silent 
machine  which  will  make  so  little  noise  that  you 
can  hear  a  pin  drop." 

"Well,"  remarked  Mr.  Damon  with  a  laugh, 
"I  don't  know  that  listening  to  falling  pins  will 
give  me  any  great  amount  of  pleasure,  Tom,  but 
I  appreciate  your  meaning." 

"Everything  all  right?"  asked  Mr.  Swift,  as 
he  came  out  to  hear  the  details  from  his  son.  "Do 
you  think  you  have  solved  the  problem  ?" 

"Not  completely,  but  I'll  soon  be  able  to  write 
Q.  E.  D.  after  it.  Some  refinements  are  all  that 
are  needed,  Dad." 

"Glad  to  hear  it    I  was  a  bit  anxious/' 

Mr.  Swift  questioned  his  son  about  the  tech- 
nical details  of  the  trip,  asking  how  the  motor 
had  acted  under  the  pressure  caused  by  so  com- 
pletely muffling  the  exhaust,  and  for  some  minutes 
the  two  inventors,  young  and  old,  indulged  in 
talk  which  was  not  at  all  interesting  to  Mr.  Da- 
mon. They  went  into  the  house,  and  Tom  asked 
to  have  a  little  lunch,  which  Mrs.  Baggert  set 
out  for  him. 

"It's  rather  late  to  eat,"  said  the  young  in* 


114         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

ventor,  ''but  I  always  feel  hungry  after  I  test  a 
new  machine  and  find  that  it  works  pretty  well. 
Will  you  join  me  in  a  sandwich  or  two,  Mr. 
Damon?" 

"Why,  bless  my  ketchup  bottle,  I  believe  I  will." 

And  so  they  ate  and  talked.  Tom  was  on  the 
point  of  telling  his  father  something  of  the  queer 
cry  for  help  they  had  heard  on  the  lonely  meadow 
when  Mrs.  Baggert  produced  a  letter  which  she 
said  had  come  for  Tom  that  afternoon,  but  had 
been  mislaid  by  a  new  maid  who  had  been  en- 
gaged to  help  with  the  housework. 

"She  took  it  to  the  shop  after  you  had  left,  and 
only  now  told  me  about  it,"  explained  Mrs.  Bag- 
gert. "So  I  sent  Eradicate  for  it." 

"How  long  ago  was  that?"  asked  Tom,  as  he 
jtook  the  missive. 

"Oh,  an  hour  ago,"  answered  Mrs.  Baggert, 
with  a  smile.  "But  don't  blame  poor  Rad  for 
that.  He  wanted  to  deliver  the  letter  to  you  per- 
sonally, and  so  did  Koku.  The  result  was  your 
giant  kept  after  Rad,  trying  to  get  the  letter  from 
him,  and  Rad  kept  hiding  and  slinking  about  for 
a  chance  to  see  you  himself  until  I  saw  what  was 
going  on,  a  little  while  ago,  and  took  the  letter 
myself.  Else  you  might  never  have  gotten  it,  so 
jealous  are  those  two,"  and  Mrs.  Baggert 
laughed. 

"Guess  it  isn't  of  much  importance,"   Tom 


THE  TELEPHONE  CALL  115 

said,  as  he  tore  open  the  envelope.  "It's  from 
the  Universal  Flying  Machine  Company,  of  New 
York,  and  I  imagine  they're  trying  to  get  me  to 
reconsider  my  refusal  to  link  up  with  them. 

"Yes,"  he  went  on,  as  he  read  the  missive, 
"that's  it.  They've  raised  the  amount  to  thirty 
thousand  a  year  now,  Dad,  and  they  say  they  feel 
sure  I  shall  regret  it  if  I  do  not  accept 

"This  is  a  bit  queer,  though,"  went  on  the 
young  inventor.  "This  letter  was  written  three 
days  ago,  but  it  reached  Shopton  only  to-day. 
And  it  says  that  unless  they  hear  from  me  at 
once  they  will  have  to  take  steps  that  will  cause 
me  great  inconvenience.  They  have  nerve,  at 
any  rate,  and  impudence,  too!  I  won't  even 
bother  to  answer.  But  I  wonder  what  they  mean, 
and  why  this  letter  was  delayed?" 

"The  mails  are  all  late  on  account  of  the  trans- 
portation congestion  caused  by  moving  troops  to 
the  camps,"  said  Mr.  Damon.  "Some  of  my  let- 
ters are  delayed  a  week.  But,  as  you  say,  Tom, 
these  fellows  are  very  impudent  to  threaten  that 
way." 

"It's  all  bluff,"  declared  Tom.  "I'm  not  worry- 
ing. And  now,  Dad,  since  I've  almost  reached 
the  top  of  the  hill  with  my  Air  Scout,  I  may  be 
able  to  help  you  on  that  new  electric  motor  you're 
puzzling  over." 

"I  wish  you  would,  Tom.    I  am  trying  to  in- 


H6         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

vent  a  new  system  of  interchangeable  brush  con-* 
tacts,  but  so  far  I've  been  unable  to  make  them 
work.  However,  there  is  no  great  hurry  about 
that.  If  you  are  going  to  offer  your  silent  ma- 
chine to  the  government  finish  that  first.  We 
need  all  the  aircraft  we  can  get.  The  battles  on 
the  other  side  seem  to  be  all  in  favor  of  the  Ger- 
mans, so  far." 

"We  haven't  got  into  our  stride  yet,"  declared 
Mr.  Damon.  "Once  Uncle  Sam  gets  the  boys 
over  there  in  force,  there'll  be  a  different  story 
to  tell.  I  only  wish—" 

At  that  moment  the  telephone  set  up  an  insist- 
ent ringing,  breaking  in  on  Mr.  Damon's  re- 
marks. 

"I'll  answer,"  said  Tom,  as  Mrs.  Baggert 
moved  toward  the  instrument,  which  was  an  ex- 
tension from  the  main  one. 

"Hello!"  called  the  young  inventor  into  the 
transmitter,  and  as  he  received  an  answer  a  look 
of  pleasure  came  over  his  face. 

"Yes,  Mary,  this  is  Tom,"  he  said.  He  re- 
mained silent  a  moment,  while  it  was  evident  he 
was  listening  to  the  voice  at  the  other  end  o£ 
the  wire.  Then  he  suddenly  exclaimed : 

"What's  that?  Tell  him  to  come  home?  Why, 
he  isn't  here.  I  just  came  in  and — what — wait 
a  minute!" 

With  a  ratherj  strange  look  on  his  face  Ton| 


THE  TELEPHONE  CALL 

covered  the  mouth-piece  of  the  instrument  witK 
his  hand,  and,  turning  to  his  father,  asked : 

"Is  Mr.  Nestor  here?" 

*'No,"  replied  Mr.  Swift  slowly,  "He  was 
here,  though.  He  came  a  little  while  after  you 
and  Mr.  Damon  started  off  in  the  Air  Scout.  But 
he  didn't  stay.  Said  he  wanted  to  see  you  about 
something  and  would  call  again." 

"Oh,"  remarked  the  young  man.  "I  didn't 
know  he  had  been  there." 

"I  meant  to  tell  you,"  said  Mrs.  Baggert;  "but 
getting  the  lunch  made  me  forget  it,  I  guess." 

Tom  uncovered  the  transmitter  of  the  tele- 
phone again,  and  spoke  to  Mary  Nestor. 

"Hello,"  he  said.  "I  was  wrong,  Mary.  Your 
father  was  here,  but  he  left  when  he  found  I 
wasn't  at  home.  How  long  ago?  Wait  a  min- 
ute and  I'll  inquire. 

"How  long  ago  did  Mr.  Nestor  leave?"  asked 
ihe  young  inventor  of  the  housekeeper.  "Nearly 
an  hour,"  he  said  into  the  instrument,  after  he 
had  received  the  answer.  Then,  after  listening 
a  moment,  he  added :  "Yes,  I  guess  he'll  be  home 
soon  now.  Probably  stopped  down  town  to  see 
some  of  his  friends.  Yes,  Mr.  Damon  and  I 
tried  out  the  Air  Scout.  Yes,  she  worked  pretty 
well,  for  a  starter,  but  there  is  something  yet  to 
be  done.  Oh,  yes,  now  I'll  have  time  to  come 
over  to  see  you,  and  take  you  for  a  ride  toot 


Il8         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 


won't  have  to  talk  through  a  speaking  tube* 
either.  Tell  your  father  I  am  sorry  I  was  out 
when  he  called.  I'll  come  to  see  him  to-morrow, 
if  he  wants  me  to.  Yes  —  yes.  I  guess  so  !"  and 
Tom  laughed,  it  being  evident  that  his  remarks 
at  the  end  of  the  conversation  had  to  do  with  per- 
sonal  matters. 

"A  telegram  has  come  for  Mr.  Nestor  and  the) 
were  anxious  that  he  should  get  it,"  Tom  ex- 
plained  to  his  little  audience  as  he  hung  up  tht 
receiver  and  put  aside  the  telephone.  "I  wondei 
what  he  wanted  to  see  me  about?" 

"He  didn't  say,"  replied  Mrs.  Baggert. 

Mr.  Damon,  Tom,  and  his  father  remained  in 
conversation  a  little  while  longer,  and  the  eccen- 
tric man  was  thinking  that  it  was  about  time  iot 
him  to  return  home,  when  the  telephone  rang 
again. 

"Hello,"  answered  Tom,  as  he  was  nearest  the 
instrument.  "Oh,  yes,  Mary,  this  is  he.  What's 
that?  Your  father  hasn't  reached  home  yet? 
And  your  mother  is  worried?  Oh  tell  her  there 
is  no  cause  for  alarm.  As  I  said,  he  probably 
stopped  on  his  way  to  see  some  friends." 

Tom  listened  for  perhaps  half  a  minute  to  a 
talk  that  was  inaudible  to  the  others  in  the  room, 
and  they  noticed  a  grave  look  come  over  his  face. 

he  said  : 
I'll  be  right  over,  Mary.    Yes,  I'll  come  a* 


THE  TELEPHONE  CALL  119 

$nce.  And  tell  your  mother  not  to  worry.  I'm 
sure  nothing  could  have  happened.  I'll  be  with 
you  in  a  jiffy!" 

As  Tom  Swift  hung  up  the  receiver  he  said: 

"Mr.  Nestor  hasn't  reached  home  yet,  and  as 
he  promised  to  return  at  once  in  case  he  didn't 
find  me,  his  wife  is  much  worried.  I'll  go  over 
and  see  what  I  can  do." 

"I'll  come  along!"  volunteered  Mr.  Damon. 
"It  /sn't  late  yet." 

"Yes,  do  come,"  urged  Tom.  "But  I  suppose 
when  we  get  there  we'll  find  our  friend  has  ar- 
rived safely.  .We'll  go  over  in  the  electric  runa- 
bout'* 


CHAPTER  XV 

A  VAIN  SEARCH? 

SWIFT'S  speedy  little  electric  car  was  soon 
at  the  door  in  readiness  to  take  him  and  Mr. 
Damon  to  the  Nestor  home.  The  electric  runa- 
Jbout  was  a  machine  Tom  had  evolved  in  his  early 
inventive  days,  and  though  he  had  other  auto- 
mobiles, none  was  quite  so  fast  or  so  simple  to 
run  as  this,  which  well  merited  the  name  of  the 
most  rapid  machine  on  the  road.  In  it  Tom  had 
once  won  a  great  race,  as  has  been  related  in  the 
book  bearing  the  title,  "Tom  Swift  and  His  Elec- 
tric Runabout." 

"Mary  didn't  telephone  again,  did  she?"  Tom 
asked  his  father,  as  he  stopped  at  the  house  to 
get  Mr.  Damon,  having  gone  out  to  see  about 
getting  the  electric  runabout  in  readiness. 

"No,"  was  the  answer.  "The  telephone  hasn't 
rung  since." 

"Then,  I  guess,  Mr.  Nestor  can't  have  arrived 
home,"  said  Tom.  "It's  a  bit  queer,  his  delay, 
j>ut  I'm  sure  it  will  be  explained  naturally.  Only 

120 


A  VAIN  SEARCH  121, 

Mary  and  her  mother  are  alone  and,  very  likely, 
the/ re  nervous.  I'll  telephone  to  let  you  know 
everything  is  all  right  as  soon  as  I  get  there," 
iTom  promised  his  father  and  Mrs.  Baggert  as 
he  drove  off  down  the  road,  partly  illuminated 
by  the  new  moon. 

Rapidly  and  almost  as  silently  as  his  Air  Scout 
iTom  Swift  drove  the  speedy  car  down  the  high- 
way. It  was  about  three  miles  from  his  home 
to  that  of  Mary  Nestor,  and  though  the  distance 
was  quickly  covered,  to  Tom,  at  least,  the  space 
seemed  interminable.  But  at  length  he  drove 
up  to  the  door.  There  were  lights  in  most  of 
the  rooms,  which  was  unusual  at  this  time  of 
night 

,The  sound  of  the  wheels  had  not  ceased  echo- 
ing  on  the  gravel  of  the  drive  before  Mary  was 
out  on  the  porch,  which  she  illuminated  by  an 
overhead  light. 

"Oh,  Tom,"  she  cried,  "he  hasn't  come  yet, 
and  we  are  so  worried!  Did  you  see  anything 
of  father  as  you  came  along?" 

"No,"  was  Tom's  answer.  "But  we  didn't 
look  for  him  along  the  road,  as  we  came  by  the 
turnpike,  and  he  wouldn't  travel  that  way.  But 
he  will  be  along  at  any  moment  now.  You  must 
remember  it's  quite  a  walk  from  my  house, 
and—" 

"But  he  was  on  his  bicycle,"  said  Mary.    "We 


122         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

wanted  him  to  go  in  the  auto,  but  he  said  he 
wanted  some  exercise  after  supper,  and  he  went 
over  on  his  wheel.  He  said  he'd  be  right  back, 
but  he  hasn't  come  yet." 

"Oh,  he  will!"  said  Tom  reassuringly.  "He 
may  have  had  a  puncture,  or  something  like  that. 
Bicyclists  are  just  as  liable  to  them  as  autoists," 
he  added  with  a  laugh. 

"Well,  I'm  sure  I  hope  it  will  be  all  right,H 
sighed  Mary.  "I  wish  you  could  convince 
mother  to  that  effect.  She's  as  nervous  as  a  cat. 
Come  in  and  tell  us  what  to  do." 

"Oh,  he'll  be  all  right,"  declared  Mr.  Damon, 
adding  his  assurances  to  Tom's. 

fThey  found  Mrs.  Nestor  verging  on  an  attack 
of  hysteria.  Though  Mr.  Nestor  often  went  out 
during  the  evening,  he  seldom  stayed  late. 

"And  he  said  he'd  be  right  back  if  he  found 
you  weren't  at  home,  Tom,"  said  Mrs.  Nestor. 
"I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what  can  be  keeping 
him!" 

"It's  too  soon  to  get  worried  yet,"  replied  the 
young  inventor  cheerfully.  "I'll  wait  a  Kttle 
while,  and  then,  if  he  doesn't  come,  Mr.  Damon 
and  I  will  go  back  over  the  road  and  look  care- 
fully. He  may  have  had  a  slight  fall — sprained 
his  ankle  or  something  like  that — and  not  be 
able  to  ride.  ,We  came  by  the  turnpike,  a  road 


A  VAIN  SEARCH 


I23 


he  probably  wouldn't  take  on  his  wheel.  He's 
all  right,  you  may  be  sure  of  that/' 

Tom  tried  to  speak  reassuringly,  but  somehow, 
he  did  not  believe  himself.  He  was  beginning 
to  think  more  and  more  how  strange  it  was  that 
Mr.  Nestor  did  not  return  home. 

"We'll  wait  just  a  bit  longer  before  setting  out 
on  a  search/'  he  told  Mary  and  her  mother.  "But 
I'm  sure  he  will  be  along  any  minute  now." 

They  went  into  the  library,  Mary  and  her 
mother,  Tom  and  Mr.  Damon.  And  there  they 
sat  waiting.  Tom  tried  to  entertain  Mary  and 
Mrs.  Nestor  with  an  account  of  his  trial  trip  in 
the  Air  Scout,  but  the  two  women  scarcely  heard 
What  he  said. 

All  sat  watching  the  clock,  and  looking  from 
that  to  the  telephone,  which  they  tried  to  hope 
would  ring  momentarily  and  transmit  to  them 
good  news.  Then  they  would  listen  for  the 
sound  of  footsteps  or  bicycle  wheels  on  the  gravel 
walk.  But  they  heard  nothing,  and  as  the  sec- 
tmds  were  ticked  off  on  the  clock  the  nervousness 
of  Mrs.  Nestor  increased,  until  she  exclaimed : 

"I  can  stand  it  no  longer!  We  must  notify 
the  police — or  do  something!" 

"I  wouldn't  notify  the  police  just  yet,"  coun- 
seled Tom.  "Mr.  Damon  and  I  will  start  out 
and  look  along  the  road.  If  it  should  happen,  as 
will  probably  turn  out  to  be  the  case,  that  Mr. 


124         TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

Nestor;  has  met  with  only  a  simple  accident,  he 
would  not  like  the  notoriety,  or  publicity,  of  hav- 
ing the  police  notified." 

"No,  I  am  sure  he  would  not,"  agreed  Mary. 
"Tom's  way  is  best,  Mother." 

"All  right,  just  as  you  say,  only  find  my  hus* 
band,"  and  Mrs.  Nestor  sighed,  and  turned  her 
head  away. 

"Even  if  Mr.  Nestor  had  had  a  fall,"  reasoned 
[Tom,  "he  could  call  for  help,  and  get  some  one 
to  telephone,  unless — " 

And  as  he  reasoned  thus  Tom  Swift  gave  a 
mental  start  at  his  own  use  of  the  word  "help." 

That  weird  cry  on  the  lonely  meadow  came 
back  to  him  with  startling  distinctness. 

"Come  on,  Mr.  Damon!"  cried  Tom,  in  a 
voice  he  tried  to  make  cheerful.  "We'll  find  that 
Mr.  Nestor  is  probably  walking  along,  carrying 
his  disabled  bicycle  instead  of  having  it  carry  him. 
.We'll  soon  have  him  safe  back  to  you,"  he  called 
to  the  two  women. 

"I  wish  I  could  go  with  you,  and  help  search," 
observed  Mary. 

"Oh,  I  couldn't  bear  to  be  left  alone!"  ex- 
claimed her  mother. 

"We'll  telephone  as  soon  as  we  find  him," 
called  Tom  to  Mrs.  Nestor,  as  he  and  Mr.  Damon 
again  got  into  the  runabout  and  started  away 
from  the  place. 


4  VAIN  SEARCH  12.5 

"What  do  you  think  of  it,  Tom?"  asked  the 
eccentric  man,  when  they  were  once  more  on  the 
road. 

"Why,  nothing  much — as  yet,"  Tom  said, 
"That  is,  I  think  nothing  more  than  a  simple 
accident  has  happened,  if,  indeed,  it  is  anything 
more  than  that  he  has  delayed  to  talk  to  some 
friends." 

"Would  he  delay  this  long?" 

"I  don't  know." 

"And  then,  Tom — bless  my  spectacles!  what 
of  that  cry  we  heard?  Could  that  have  been  Mr, 
Nestor?" 

There!  It  was  out!  The  suspicion  that  Tom 
had  been  trying  to  keep  his  mind  away  from 
came  to  the  fore.  Well,  he  might  as  well  face 
the  issue  now  as  later. 

"I've  been  thinking  of  that,"  he  told  Mr. 
Damon,  "It  might  have  been  Mary's  father  call- 
ing for  help." 

"But  we  looked,  Tom,  near  the  trees,  and 
couldn't  discover  anything.  If  he  had  been  call- 
ing for  help " 

,  Mr.  Damon  did  not  finish. 

"He  may  have  fallen  from  his  wheel  and  been 
hurt,"  said  Tom,  as  he  turned  the  electric  runa- 
bout into  the  highway  that  Mr.  Nestor  would, 
most  likely,  have  taken  on  his  way  from  Shop- 
ton.  "Then  he  may  have  called  for  help,  and  some 


126         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

autoists,  passing,  may  have  heard  and  taken  him 
away.1* 

"Yes,  But  where,  Tom?  Whoever  called  for 
Kelp  was  taken  away,  that's  sure.  But  where  ?" 

"To  some  hospital,  I  suppose.'* 

"Then  hadn't  we  better  inquire  there?  There 
are  only  two  hospitals  of  any  account  around 
here.  The  one  in  Shopton  and  the  one  in  Water- 
field.  My  wife  is  on  the  board  of  Lady  Managers 
there.  We  could  call  that  hospital  up  and " 

"We'll  look  along  the  road  first,"  said  Tom. 
"If  we  begin;  to  make  inquiries  at  the  hospitals 
there  will  be  a  lot  of  questions  asked,  and  a  gen- 
eral alarm  may  be  sent  out.  Mr.  Nestor  wouldn't 
like  that,  if  he  isn't  in  any  danger.  And  it  may 
turn  out  that  he  has  met  an  old  friend,  and  has 
been  talking  with  him  all  this  while,  forgetting 
all  about  the  passage  of  time." 

They  were  now  driving  along  the  highway 
that  led  from  the  little  suburb  where  Mr.  Nestor 
lived,  to  the  main  part  of  Shopton,  just  beyond 
which  was  Tom's  home.  This  section  was  coun- 
try-like, with  very  few  houses  and  those  placed 
at  rather  infrequent  intervals.  The  road  was  a 
good  one,  though  not  the  main-traveled  one,  and 
Mr.  Nestor,  as  was  known,  frequently  used  it 
when  he  rode  his  bicycle,  an  exercise  of  which 
he  was  very  fond. 

As  [Tom  and  Mr.  Damon  drove  along,  they 


A  VAIN  SEARCH  127 

scanned,  as  best  they  could  in  the  light  from  the 
young  moon  and  the  powerful  lamps  on  the  runa- 
about,  every  part  of  the  highway.  They  were 
looking  for  some  dark  blot  which  might  indicate 
where  a  man  had  fallen  from  his  wheel  and  was 
lying  in  some  huddled  heap  on  the  road.  But 
they  saw  nothing  like  this,  much  to  their  relief. 

"Do  you  know,  Tom,"  said  Mr.  Damon,  when 
they  were  nearing  the  town,  and  their  search,  thus 
'far,  had  been  in  vain,  "I  think  we're  going  at 
this  the  wrong  way." 

"Why,  so?" 

"Because  Mr.  Nestor  may  have  fallen,  and 
been  hurt,  and  have  been  carried  into  any  one  of 
a  dozen  houses  along  the  road.  In  that  case  we 
wouldn't  see  him.  We've  passed  over  the  most 
lonely  part  of  the  journey  and  haven't  seen  him. 
If  the  accident  occurred  near  the  houses  his  cries 
would  have  brought  some  one  out  to  help  him. 
He  is  well  known  around  here,  and,  even  if  he 
were  unconscious  and  couldn't  tell  who  he  was, 
he  could  be  identified  by  papers  in  his  pockets. 
[Then  his  family  would  be  notified  by  telephone." 

"Perhaps  you  are  right,  Mr.  Damon.  We  may 
Jfe  wasting  time  this  ;way.  What  do  you  sug- 
gest?" asked  Tom. 

"That  we  don't  delay  any  longer,  but  call  up 
the  hospitals  at  once.  If  he  isn't  in  either  of 
those  he  must  be  in  some  house,  and  in  such  con- 


128        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

dition  that  his  identity  cannot  be  established.  In 
that  event  it  is  a  case  for  the  police.  We  haven't 
found  him,  and  I  think  we  had  better  give  the 
alarm." 

Tom  Swift  thought  it  over  for  a  moment 
Then  he  came  to  a  sudden  decision. 

"You're  right!"  he  told  Mr.  Damon.  "We 
mustn't  waste  any  more  time.  He  isn't  along 
the  road  he  ought  to  have  traveled  in  coming 
from  my  house  to  his  home — that's  sure.  But 
before  I  call  up  the  hospitals  I  want  to  try  out  one 
more  idea." 

"What's  that,  Tom?" 

"I  want  to  go  to  the  place  where  we  heard  that 
*ry  for  help." 

"Do  you  think  that  could  have  been  Mr. 
Nestor?" 

"It  may  have  been.  We'll  go  and  take  another 
look  around  there.  Some  man  was  evidently 
hurt  there,  and  was  taken  away.  We  may  get  a 
<dew.  The  lights  on  the  runabout  will  give  us  3, 
better  chance  to  look  around  than  we  had  by  the 
little  pocket  lamp.  We'll  try  there,  and,  if  we 
don't  find  anything,  then  I'll  call  up  the  hos- 
pitals." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  LONG  NIGHT 

WITH  the  speedy  runabout  it  did  not  take 
Tom  Swift  and  Mr.  Damon  long  to  reach  the 
place  where  the  Air  Scout  had  been  grounded  a 
few  hours  before,  and  where  they  had  heard  the 
cry  for  help.  All  was  as  dark  and  as  silent  as 
when  they  had  been  there  before. 

But,  as  Tom  had  said,  the  lights  from  his  elec- 
tric runabout  would  give  a  brilliant  illumination, 
and  these  he  now  directed  toward  the  clump  of, 
trees  whence  the  cry  for  help  had  seemed  to 
come. 

v  "Doesn't  appear  to  have  been  visited  by  any 
one  since  we  were  here,"  remarked  Tom,  as  he 
observed  the  marks  of  the  new  automobile  tire 
in  the  dust.  "Now  well  look  about  more  care- 
fully." 

This  they  did,  but  they  were  about  to  give  up 
in  despair  and  start  for  the  nearest  telephone  to 
call  up  the  hospitals,  when  Mr,  Damon  gave  an 
exclamation. 

129 


130         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOVT 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Tom. 

"Something  bright  and  shining !"  said  his  com- 
panion. "I  saw  it  gleam  in  the  light  of  the  lamps. 
You  nearly  put  your  foot  on  it,  Tom.  Just  step 
back  a  moment." 

Tom  did  so,  and  the  eccentric  man,  with  an- 
other exclamation,  this  time  of  satisfaction, 
reached  down  and  picked  something  up  from  the 
dusty  road. 

"It's  a  watch !"  he  exclaimed.  "A  gold  watch ! 
And  it's  been  stepped  on,  evidently,  or  run  over 
by  an  auto.  Not  much  damaged,  but  the  case  is 
a  bit  bent  and  scratched.  It's  stopped,  too!"  he 
added  as  he  held  it  to  his  ear. 

"What  time  does  it  show?"  asked  Tom. 

"Eight  forty-seven,"  answered  Mr.  Damon,  as 
he  consulted  the  dial.  "Why,  Tom,  that  was  just 
about  when  we  heard  the  cries  for  help!" 

"Yes,  it  must  have  been.  Let  me  see  tha? 
watch." 

No  sooner  had  the  young  inventor  taken  the; 
timepiece  into  his  hands  than  he,  too,  uttered  3 
cry  of  amazement. 

"Do  you  recognize  it?"  asked  Mr.  Damon,  iri; 
great  excitement. 

"It's  Mr.  Nestor's  watch!"  cried  Tom.  "He 
must  have  fallen  here,  and  been  hurt.  It  was 
Mr.  Nestor  who  cried  for  help,  and  who  was 
taken  away  by  the  autoists.  They've  probably 


THE  LONG  NIGHT  131 

taken  him  to  some  hospital.  There's  been  an  acci- 
dent all  right." 

fTom  and  Mr.  Damon  were  of  one  mind  now 
in  thinking  that  Mr.  Nestor  had  met  with  some 
mishap  on  the  road — an  automobile  accident 
most  likely^— and  that  he  was  the  person  who  had 
called  for  help. 

"If  they  had  only  answered  when  we  hallooed 
at  them,"  said  Tom,  "we  wouldn't  be  in  all  this 
stew  now,  We  could  have  told  the  strangers  who 
came  to  his  aid  who  he  was,  and  we  might  even 
have  taken  him  to  the  hospital  in  the  airship." 

"Well,  it's  too  late  to  think  of  that  now,"  re- 
turned Mr.  Damon.  "We  had  better  get  into 
communication  with  him  as  soon  as  we  can,  and 
then  send  word  to  his  wife  and  daughter*  1  hope 
he  isn't  badly  hurt." 

Tom  hoped  so,  too,  with  all  his  heart. 

[There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  get  back  in  the 
runabout  and  make  all  speed  for  the  nearest  tele- 
phone, and  Tom  Swift  lost  little  time  in  doing 
this.  They  found  a  drug  store  which  was  open 
a  little  later  than  usual,  and  at  once  Tom  went 
into  the  booth  and  called  up  the  Shopton  hos- 
pital. He  was  well  known  there,  as  he  and  his 
father  were  liberal  supporters  of  the  institution, 
;which  was  a  private  affair.  Many  of  Tom's  men 
were  treated  at  the  dispensary,  and,  as  accidents 
were  of  more  or  less  frequent  occurrence  at  the 


132         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

works,  the  young  inventor  had  frequent  occasion 
to  call  up  the  place. 

"Mr.  Nestor  would  ask  to  be  taken  there,  as 
it's  nearest  his  home — that  is,  if  he  was  able  to 
speak,"  Tom  said  to  Mr.  Damon,  who  agreed 
with  him.  There  was  a  little  delay  in  getting  the 
hospital  on  the  wire,  but  when  Tom  had  it,  and 
was  talking  to  the  superintendent,  he  was  rather 
surprised,  to  tell  the  truth,  to  be  told  that  Mr, 
Nestor  had  not  been  brought  in. 

"We  haven't  had  any  accident  cases  all  day, 
nor  to-night,  Mr.  Swift,"  the  superintendent  re- 
ported. "Was  this  some  one  special  you  were 
inquiring  about?" 

For  Tom,  determining  not  to  give  Mr.  Nestor's 
name,  except  as  a  last  resort,  had  merely  in- 
quired whether  any  recent  accident  cases  had 
been  brought  in. 

"I'll  let  you  know  later,  Mr.  Millard,"  he  told 
the  superintendent,  not  exactly  answering  the 
question.  He  hung  up  the  receiver,  and,  opening 
the  door  of  the  booth,  said  to  Mr.  Damon :  "He 
isn't  there." 

"Then  try  Waterfield,"  was  the  suggestion; 
jarid  Tom  did  so,  though  he  could  not  imagine  why 
an  injured  man,  such  as  Mr.  Nestor  might  prove 
to  be,  should  be  taken  as  far  as  Waterfield,  when 
the  hospital  at  Shopton  was  nearer. 

"Unless,"  he  told  Mr.  Damon,  "the  people  whs 


THE  LONG  NIGHT  133 

ran  down  Mary's  father  didn't  know  about  our 
hospital." 

The  reply  from  the  institution  in  Mr.  Damon's 
home  town  was  just  as  discouraging  as  had  been 
the  answer  from  Shopton.  At  first,  when  Tom 
inquired,  the  head  nurse  had  said  there  was  ait 
accident  case  at  that  moment  being  brought  in. 
Tom  was  all  excitement  until  she  went  to  inquire 
the  name  and  circumstances,  and  then  he  learned 
that  it  was  the  case  of  a  little  boy  who  had  fallen 
downstairs  at  his  home  and  broken  a  leg.  There 
was  no  record  of  any  one  answering  the  descrip- 
tion of  Mr.  Nestor  having  been  brought  in  that 
evening. 

"Hum!  This  is  getting  to  be  mysterious," 
mused  Tom,  as  he  came  out  of  the  booth.  "What 
shall  we  do — go  back  and  tell  Mrs.  Nestor  and 
Mary,  or  communicate  with  the  police?" 

"Why  not  try  the  Alexian  Hospital?"  asked 
Mr.  Damon.  "That's  away  over  in  Centerford, 
to  be  sure,  but  it's  more  likely  to  be  known  to 
passing  tourists  than  either  of  our  institutions 
around  here,  especially  if  the  autoists  were  strang- 


ers." 


"That's  so,"  agreed  Tom.  The  Alexian  Hos- 
pitial  was  operated  under  the  direction  of  the 
Brothers  of  that  faith,  and  was  well  known  in 
that  part  of  the  state.  Often  cases  of  persons 
who  had  been  injured  by  passing  automobiles  had 


134         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

been  taken  there  for  treatment,  for,  as  Mr.  Damon 
had  said,  it  was  well  known,  and  Centerford  was 
the  nearest  large  city. 

"I  can  just  about  see  how  it  happened,"  said 
[Tom.  "They  ran  Mr.  Nestor  down,  and  stopped 
to  pick  him  up  after  they  heard  his  cries  for  help. 
And  the  Alexian  Hospital  was  the  first  one  they 
thought  of.  We  should  have  called  that  up  first." 

But  once  more  disappointment  awaited  the 
young  inventor  and  his  friend.  Word  came  bade 
over  the  wire  that  no  accident  case,  which  bore 
any  resemblance  to  Mary's  father,  had  been 
brought  in. 

"Well,  I'm  stumped  I"  exclaimed  Tom.  "Whaf 
shall  we  do  now,  Mr.  Damon?" 

"Much  as  I  dislike  it,"  said  the  eccentric  man 
who  was  too  much  worried,  now,  to  do  any 
"blessing,"  which  was  his  favorite  expression, 
"I  think  we  ought  to  communicate  with  Mrs. 
Nestor.  She  will  be  very  anxious." 

"I  guess  we'll  have  to,"  said  Tom.  "But  wait! 
I'll  call  up  my  house  first,  and  see  if  he  has  gone 
back  there." 

But  Mr.  Nestor  had  not  done  this,  and  Mrs. 
Baggert,  who  answered  the  telephone,  said  Mary 
had  been  calling  frantically  for  Tom,  as  her 
mother  was  now  on  the  verge  of  complete  col- 
lapse. 

"No  help  for  it,"  said  Tom,  ruefully.  "We've 


THE  LONG  NIGHT  135 

got  to  tell  'em  we  have  no  news,  and  can't  find 
him." 

And,  hearing  this,  Mrs.  Nestor  did  collapse, 
and  a  doctor  was  called  in. 

Thereupon  Tom,  who  with  Mr.  Damon  had 
gone  back  to  the  Nestor  home,  took  charge  of 
matters,  sending  for  Mrs.  Nestor's  sister  to  come 
and  stay  with  her  and  take  charge  of  the  house. 

"You'll  need  some  one  to  stay  with  you,"  he 
told  Mary. 

"Yes,  I  shall,"  she  admitted,  trying  bravely 
not  to  give  way  to  her  emotion.  "Oh,  Tom,  I 
wish  you  could  stay,  too.  I'm  sure  something 
dreadful  must  have  happened  to  poor  father. 
Please  stay  and  help  us  find  him!" 

"I  will,"  Tom  promised.  "As  soon  as  your, 
aunt  comes  I'll  take  Mr.  Damon  home,  and  then 
I'll  give  the  rest  of  my  time  to  you." 

And  this  Tom  did,  sending  word  home  that  he 
would  remain  at  the  Nestor's  all  night  and  part 
of  the  next  day. 

Tom  got  but  little  sleep  that  night.  He  com- 
municated with  the  police  and  saw  to  it  that  a 
general  alarm  was  sent  out.  He  called  up  all 
hospitals  within  a  radius  of  fifty  miles,  but  could 
get  no  trace  of  any  injured  man  whose  descrip- 
tion resembled  that  of  Mr.  Nestor. 

"What  can  have  happened  ?"  asked  Mary  tear- 
fully. 


136         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"Well,  the  way  I  figure  it  out  is  this,"  said 
Tom.  "Your  father  left  my  house  soon  after 
Mr.  Damon  and  I  did  in  the  Air  Scout.  Mr. 
Nestor  was  riding  his  bicycle,  and  he  must  have 
been  run  into  by  an  automobile.  That  is  how 
his  watch  was  damaged  and  that  was  when  Mr. 
Damon  and  I  heard  the  cries  for  help." 

"Oh,  do  you  think  he  was  badly  hurt?"  asked 
Mary. 

"No,  I  don't,"  and  Tom  answered  truthfully. 
"The  voice  sounded  as  though  he  was  in  pain, 
certainly,  but  it  was  strong  and  vigorous,  and  not 
at  all  as  though  he  was  dangerously  hurt." 

"And  what  do  you  think  happened  to  him  after 
he  was  hurt?"  asked  Mary. 

"The  autoists  took  him  away,"  decided  Tom. 
"In  fact,  we  heard  the  machine  go,  but  of  course 
we  never  connected  the  call  for  help  and  what 
followed  with  your  father.  The  autoists  took 
him  away." 

"Where?" 

"I  should  say  to  some  hospital.  Perhaps  a 
private  one  of  which  we  know  nothing,  and  which 
may  be  near  here.  I'll  get  a  full  list  from  the 
Board  of  Health  to-morrow.  Or  it  may  be  that 
the  autoists,  seeing  the  damage  they  had  done, 
took  your  father  to  the  home  of  one  of  them- 
selves, and  summoned  a  doctor  there." 

"Why  would  they  do  that?" 


THE  LONG  NIGHT  137  , 

"Well,  they  may  have  been  so  frightened  they 
didn't  realize  what  they  were  doing,  or  they  may 
have  thought  he  would  get  better  treatment  in  a 
private  house,  if  he  were  not  badly  injured,  than 
if  he  should  be  taken  to  a  hospital.  It  may  have 
been  that  one  of  the  persons  in  the  auto  was  a 
physician,  and  wished  to  try  his  own  skill  on  the 
man  he  had  hurt." 

"You  make  me  feel  more  comfortable,  Tom," 
said  Mary.  "But,  even  supposing  all  this,  why 
couldn't  they  telephone  to  us  that  my  father  was 
all  right?  He  always  carries  an  identification 
card  with  him,  and  if  he  were  unconscious  it 
could  be  ascertained  who  he  was." 

"That's  what  I  can't  understand,"  said  Tom 
frankly.  "It  puzzles  me.  But  we'll  find  him — 
never  fear!" 

And  so  he  kept  on  with  his  telephone  inquiries, 
while  a  physician  and  her  sister  ministered  to 
Mrs.  Nestor.  The  night  was  very,  very  long, 
and  no  good  news  came  in. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

SILENT  SAM 

SLOWLY  the  dawn  broke  through  the  mists  of 
darkness,  and  made  the  earth  light.  The  sun 
came  straggling  in  through  cracks  in  the  shutters 
in  the  home  of  Mr.  Nestor,  the  gradually  increas- 
ing gleam  paling  the  electric  lights,  in  the  glare 
of  which  Tom  Swift,  Mary,  and  her  aunt  sat, 
waiting  for  some  word  of  the  missing  man.  But 
none  came. 

"What  shall  we  do  now?"  asked  Mary,  as  she 
looked  at  Tom. 

"Oh,  there's  lots  to  do,"  he  said,  trying  to  make 
his  voice  sound  cheerful.  "We'll  be  busy  all  day. 
I  sent  word  to  have  one  of  my  touring  cars  ready 
to  hurry  to  any  part  of  the  country  the  moment 
we  should  get  word  from  your  father." 

"And  do  you  think  we  shall  get  word,  Tom?" 
the  girl  went  on  wistfully. 

"Of  course  we  shall !"  he  cried.  "Word  may 
come  in  at  any  time.  Now  get  ready,  eat  a  good 
breakfast,  and  then  you  can  go  with  me  as  soon 

138 


SILENT  SAM  139 

as  we  hear  anything  definite.  Come,  we'll  have 
breakfast!" 

"I  can't  eat  a  thing!"  protested  Mary. 

"Oh,  yes  you  can,"  said  her  aunt,  who  was  a 
cheerful  sort  of  person.  "I'll  see  about  getting 
something  for  you  and  Mr.  Swift,  and  see  that 
your  mother  is  all  right." 

She  left  the  room  to  give  orders  to  the  servant 
about  the  meal,  and  returned  to  say  that  Mrs. 
Nestor  was  sleeping  quietly.  She  had  been  given 
a  sedative.  Mary  managed  to  eat  a  little,  and 
she  gave  Tom  the  address  of  several  friends  who 
were  called  up  in  the  vain  hope  that,  somehow, 
Mr.  Nestor  might  have  gone  to  see  them. 

"Jom,  what  do  you  really  think  has  hapn- 
pened?"  asked  Mary  again,  as  they  sat  facing  one 
another  in  the  library,  during  a  respite  from  the 
telephone. 

iTom  Swift  repeated  to  the  girl  his  theory  of 
what  had  happened  with  an  assumption  of  con- 
fidence he  did  not  altogether  feel. 

His  prediction  of  a  speedy  end  to  the  suspense 
did  not  come  true  that  day,  nor  for  many  days. 
No  news  was  heard  of  Mr.  Nestor.  After  the 
first  day,  when  there  was  no  information  and 
when  no  reports  came  of  any  one  of  his  descrip- 
tion having  been  hurt  in  an  automobile  accident 
or  having  been  taken  to  any  hospital,  the  police 
started  an  energetic  search. 


140         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

The  authorities  in  all  near-by  cities  were  noti- 
fied, and  all  thought  of  keeping  from  the  public 
what  had  happened  was  given  over.  Tom's  story, 
of  how  he  and  Mr.  Damon  had  heard  the  cry 
for  help  on  the  lonely  meadow,  was  printed  in 
the  papers,  though  the  young  inventor  did  not 
say  that  he  had  been  out  trying  his  new  aero- 
plane. That  was  a  detail  not  needed  in  the  find- 
ing of  Mr.  Nestor. 

But  Mary's  father  was  not  found.  The  mys- 
tery regarding  his  disappearance  deepened,  and 
there  was  no  trace  of  him  after  he  had  left  Tom's 
house  that  eventful  evening.  Persons  living 
along  the  roads  he  might  have  taken  in  riding 
his  bicycle  were  questioned,  but  they  had  seen 
nothing  of  him,  nor  were  they  aware  of  any  acci- 
dent. Tom's  testimony  and  that  of  Mr.  Damon 
was  all  the  clew  there  was. 

"I  don't  believe  he's  dead!"  stoutly  declared 
the  young  inventor,  when  this  dire  possibility  had 
been  hinted  at.  "I  believe  the  persons  who  were 
responsible  for  the  accident  are  afraid  to  reveal 
his  whereabouts  until  he  recovers  from  possible 
injuries.  You'll  see !  Mr.  Nestor  will  come  back 
safe!" 

And,  somehow,  though  her  mother  was  scep- 
tical, Mary  believed  what  Tom  said. 

The  search  was  kept  up,  but  without  result, 
and  Tom  aided  all  he  could.  But  there  was  not 


SILENT  SAM  141 

much  he  could  do.  The  police  and  other  author- 
ities were  at  a  total  loss. 

In  the  intervals  of  visiting  Mary  and  her 
mother,  and  doing  what  he  could  for  them,  Tom 
worked  on  his  new  motor.  He  knew  that  he  was 
on  the  right  track  and  that  all  that  was  needed 
now  was  to  make  certain  refinements  and  adjust- 
ments in  the  apparatus  he  had  already  con- 
structed, so  that  it  would  operate  more  quietly. 

"Absorbing  the  vibrations  from  the  exhaust, 
caused  by  the  exploded  gases  in  the  cylinders, 
does  the  trick,"  Tom  told  his  father. 

"But  there  is  enormous  pressure  to  overcome, 
Tom.  You  must  be  sure  your  muffler  will  stand 
the  strain.  Otherwise  she  is  going  to  blow  out 
a  gasket  some  day,  when  you  least  expect  it. 
Then  the  sudden  resumption  of  pressure  outside 
the  cylinders  is  going  to  cause  a  change  in  the 
equilibrium,  and  you  may  turn  turtle  in  the  air/' 

"I've  thought  of  that,"  said  Tom.  "At  worst 
it  can't  be  any  more  than  looping  the  loop.  But 
I'll  make  the  muffler  doubly  strong." 

"Better  provide  an  auxiliary  chamber  to  take 
care  of  part  of  the  exhaust  in  case  your  main  ap- 
paratus breaks/'  advised  the  older  inventor,  and 
Tom  said  he  would.  He  did,  too,  for  he  valued 
his  father's  expert  advice. 

Meanwhile  he  was  busy  fitting  one  of  his  latest 
aeroplanes  with  the  new  motor.  The  motor  he 


142         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

and  Mr.  Damon  had  used  in  their  flight  was  one 
patched  up  from  an  old  one.  But  now  Tom  was 
working  on  a  complete  new  one,  made  after  his 
revised  model,  and  in  which  the  silencer  was  an 
integral  part,  instead  of  being  built  on. 

While  giving  Mary  and  her  mother  all  the  as- 
sistance in  his  power,  Tom  still  found  time  to 
work  on  his  new,  pet  scheme.  He  had  matters 
now  where  he  did  not  fear  any  tampering  with 
his  plans,  for  he  had  filed  away  his  papers  in  a 
safe  place,  and  was  making  his  new  machine  from 
memory. 

"But  if  some  one  got  in  and  had  a  look  at  the 
inside  of  your  silencer  he  could  see  how  it  is  con- 
structed, couldn't  he?"  asked  Ned  Newton. 

"Yes,"  assented  Tom,  "But  they're  not  going 
to  get  in  very  easily.  Koku  sleeps  in  the  experi- 
ment shop  now,  and  my  machine  is  there." 

"Oh,  well  that  explains  your  confidence.  I  feel 
sorry  for  the  burglar  who  makes  the  attempt, 
once  Koku  wakes  up.  Heard  anything  more 
from  those  Universal  people?" 

"No,  not  directly.  I  understand  they  are 
working  hard  on  some  new  type  of  plane  for 
army  use,  but  I  haven't  bothered  my  head  about 
them.  I'm  too  much  occupied  with  my  own  af- 
fairs and  trying  to  help  Mary." 

"Very  strange  about  Mr.  Nestor,  isn't  it?" 

"Worse  than  strange,"  said  Tom.     "If  this 


SILENT  SAM  143 

Iceeps  on,  and  he  isn't  heard  from,  it  will  be  tragic 
pretty  soon." 

"He  must  be  held  a  prisoner  somewhere/'  de- 
clared Ned. 

"It  begins  to  look  that  way,"  assented  Tom. 
"Though  who  would  have  an  object  in  that  I 
can't  understand.  He  had  no  enemies,  as  far  as 
is  known,  and  his  business  affairs  were  in  excel- 
lent shape.  Unless,  as  I  said,  the  persons  who 
ran  him  down  are,  through  fear,  keeping  him 
hidden  until  he  recovers,  I  can't  imagine  what 
has  become  of  him." 

"Well,  it  certainly  is  a  puzzle,"  said  Ned.  And 
[Tom  agreed  with  his  chum. 

It  was  about  a  week  after  the  disappearance 
of  Mr.  Nestor  that  Mr.  Damon  came  over  to  see 
[Tom. 

"Bless  my  shoe  laces,  Tom!"  exclaimed  the 
eccentric  man,  "but  you  are  as  busy  as  ever." 
For  he  found  the  young  inventor  in  the  experi- 
ment shop,  surrounded  by  a  mass  of  papers  and 
all  sorts  of  mechanical  devices. 

"Yes,  I'm  working  a  little,"  said  Tom.  "But 
you  are  just  in  time.  Come  on  out,  I  want  to 
introduce  you  to  Silent  Sam." 

"  'Silent  Sam !' '  exclaimed  Mr.  Damon. 
"Have  you  been  taking  a  new  trip  to  the  Land 
of  Wonders  ?  Have  you  brought  back  some 
kind  of  servant?" 


144         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"Not  exactly  a  servant,"  said  Tom  with  a 
laugh,  "though  I  hope  Silent  Sam  will  serve  me 
well." 

\  "  'Silent  Sam?'    What  does  it  mean?    Is  that 
a  joke?"  asked  the  puzzled  Mr.  Damon. 

"I  hope  it  doesn't  turn  out  a  joke,"  replied 
Tom.  "But  come  on,  I'll  introduce  you  to  him, 
Mr.  Damon." 

He  led  the  way  to  one  of  the  big  hangars  where 
his  various  machines  of  the  air  were  housed.  On 
the  way  Mr.  Damon  asked  about  news  of  Mr, 
Nestor,  but  was  told  there  was  none. 

Tom  Swift  opened  the  big,  swinging  doors  and 
pulled  aside  an  enveloping  canvas  curtain.  There* 
stood  revealed  a  big  aeroplane,  of  somewhat  new 
pattern,  the  wings  gleaming  like  silver  from  the* 
varnish  that  had  been  applied.  In  shape  it  was 
not  unlike  the  machines  already  in  use,  except 
that  the  propellers  were  of  somewhat  different 
design. 

The  engine  was  mounted  in  front,  and  even 
with  his  slight  knowledge  of  mechanics  Mn 
Damon  could  tell  that  it  was  exceedingly  power- 
ful. But  it  was  certain  devices  attached  to  the 
engine  that  attracted  his  attention,  for  they  went 
totally  different  from  any  on  any  other  aeroplane, 
though  they  bore  some  resemblance  to  apparatus 
on  the  plane  in  which  Tom  and  the  eccentric  man 
had  made  the  night  flight. 


SILENT  SAM  145 

"Is  this  your  new  machine,  Tom?"  asked  Mr. 
Damon. 

"Yes." 

"Well,  I  don't  see  anything  of  that  fellow  you 
spoke  of — Silent  Sam." 

"This  is  Silent  Sam,"  returned  Tom,  with  a 
laugh.  "Pve  named  my  new  noiseless  areoplans- 
—my  Air  Scout — I've  named  that  Silent  Sam. 
Wait  until  you  hear  it,  or  rather,  don't  hear  it 
and  I  think  you'll  agree  with  me.  Silent  Sam 
for  Uncle  Sam!" 

"Good!"  cried  Mr.  Damon.  "Bless  my  dic- 
tionary, but  that's  a  good  name!  Does  it  sail 
silently,  Tom?" 

"I'll  let  you  judge  presently.  Silent  Sam  is  all 
ready  for  his  first  trial,  and  I'll  be  glad  to  have 
you  with  me.  Now,  I'll  just " 

Tom  suddenly  ceased  speaking  and  held  up  a 
hand  to  enjoin  silence.  Then,  while  Mr.  Damon 
watched,  the  young  inventor  began  moving  noise- 
lessly toward  the  rear  of  the  big  shed,  inside 
which  was  his  new  machine. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

SUSPICIONS 

"WHO'S  there?"  suddenly  called  Tom,  and  in 
such  a  sharp  voice  that  Mr.  Damon  started, 
ready  as  he  was  for  something  unusual. 

There  was  no  answer  and  Tom  suddenly 
switched  on  all  the  lights  in  the  shed.  Up  to 
then  there  had  been  only  a  few  glowing — just 
enough  for  him  to  show  the  new  Air  Scout  to 
his  friend. 

"Who's  there?"  asked  Tom  again,  sharply. 

"Bless  my  opera  glasses,  Tom!"  cried  Mr.. 
Damon,  "but  are  you  seeing  things?" 

"No;  but  I'm  hearing  them,"  answered  Tom 
with  a  short  laugh.  "Did  you  think  you  heard 
some  one  moving  around  near  the  rudders  of 
Silent  Sam,  Mr.  Damon?" 

"No,  I  can't  say  that  I  did.  Everything  seems 
to  me  to  be  all  right." 

"Well,  it  doesn't  to  me,"  went  on.  Tom  grimly. 
"I  think  there  is  an  intruder  in  this  shed,  though 
how  any  one  could  get  in  when  the  doors  have 

146 


SUSPICIONS  147 

been  locked  all  day,  is  more  than  I  can  figure 
out.  But  I'm  going  to  have  a  look." 

"I'll  help  you,"  offered  Mr.  Damon,  and,  in  the 
bright  glare  from  many  electric  lights,  the  two 
began  a  search  of  the  big  hangar  where  the  new 
craft  was  kept. 

But  though  the  young  inventor  and  his  friend 
went  around  to  the  rear  of  the  aeroplane,  walk- 
ing in  opposite  directions,  they  saw  no  one,  nor 
'did  any  one  try  to  escape  past  them. 

"And  yet  I  was  sure  I  heard  some  one  in  here," 
declared  Tom,  when  a  search  had  revealed  noth- 
ing. "It  sounded  as  if  some  one  were  scuffling 
softly  about  in  rubber-soled  shoes,  trying  to 
hide." 

"Bless  my  suspenders!"  cried  Mr.  Damon, 
"who  do  you  think  it  could  have  been,  Tom  ?" 

"Who  else  but  some  spy  trying  to  get  posses- 
sion of  my  secrets?"  was  the  answer.  "But  I 
guess  I  was  too  quick  for  them.  They  couldn't 
learn  much  from  looking  at  the  outside  of  my 
muffler,  and  it  hasn't  been  disturbed,  as  far  as  I 
can  see." 

"Who  would  want  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  it 
in  that  unlawful  way?"  asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"Perhaps  some  of  the  Universal  crowd.  They 
may  have  been  disappointed  in  perfecting  a  silent 
motor  themselves,  and  think  stealing  my  idea 
would  be  the  easiest  way  out  of  it." 


148         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"Do  they  know  you  are  working  on  such  a 
model  as  this  Silent  Sam  of  yours,  Tom?" 

"Yes,  I  imagine  they  do.  One  of  the  firm 
members,  as  you  recall,  overheard  something,  I 
think,  that  gave  them  a  hint  as  to  what  my  plans 
were,  though,  thanks  to  the  time  I  fooled  the 
spy,  they  haven't  any  real  data  to  go  by,  I  be- 
lieve." 

"Let  us  hope  not,"  said  Mr.  Damon. 

Tom  and  he  made  a  thorough  search  of  the 
big  shed,  but  found  no  one,  nor  was  there  any 
trace  of  an  intruder.  Tom  notified  Jackson,  who, 
in  turn,  told  the  guards  and  watchmen  to  be  on 
the  lookout  for  any  suspicious  strangers,  but  none 
was  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Swift  works. 

"Well,  everything  seems  to  be  all  right,  so  we'll 
have  the  test,"  remarked  Tom,  after  a  further 
search  of  the  premises.  "Now,  Mr.  Damon,  if 
all  goes  as  I  hope  you  will  see  what  my  new  ma- 
chine can  do.  Strain  your  ears  for  a  sound,  and 
let  me  know  how  much  you  hear." 

His  men  helping  him,  Tom  started  the  new 
motor  which  was  tried  for  the  first  time  attached 
to  the  new  craft.  No  flight  was  to  be  made  yet, 
the  motor  being  tested  as  though  on  the  block, 
though,  in  reality,  the  craft  was  ready  for  instant 
flight  if  need  be. 

Slowly  the  great  propellers  began  to  revolve 
and  then  Tom,  taking  his  place  in  the  cockpit, 


SUSPICIONS  149 

turned  on  more  power.  The  new  craft — Silent 
Sam — was  made  fast  so  it  could  not  progress 
even  though  the  propellers  revolved  at  high 
speed. 

"I'm  not  sending  her  to  the  limit,"  said  Tom 
to  his  friend,  as  the  young  inventor  throttled 
down  the  motor.  "If  I  did  I'd  tear  her  loose 
from  the  holding  blocks." 

"Her!"  cried  Mr.  Damon.  "Bless  my  type- 
writer, Tom!  but  I  thought  Silent  Sam  was  a 
gentleman  aeroplane." 

"So  he  is!"  laughed  the  young  man,  frankly. 
"I  forgot  about  'Silent  Sam.'  Guess  I'll  have  to 
say  'him'  instead  of  'her,'  though  the  latter 
sounds  more  natural.  Anyhow  what  do  you 
think?" 

"I  think  it's  wonderful!"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Damon.  "There  the  motor  is,  going  at  almost 
full  speed,  and  I  can  hardly  hear  a  thing.  You 
can  the  easier  believe  that  when  I  say  that  I  can 
hear  you  talk  perfectly  well.  And  I  guess  you 
hear  me,  don't  you?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Tom.  "And  we  don't  have  to 
shout,  either.  This  is  the  best  test  ever !  I  think 
everything  is  a  success !" 

"Are  you  going  to  take  her  aloft,  Tom?"  the 
eccentric  man  went  on. 

"Yes,  now  that  I'm  sure  the  engine  is  all  right. 
Will  you  go  for  a  flight  with  me  ?" 


150         TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"I  certainly  will!  I  only  wish  we  could  find 
him,  though.  I'd  go  with  a  better  heart" 

"Oh!    Mr.  Nestor?" 

"Yes,  I  can't  imagine  what  has  become  of 
him.  It  is  almost  as  if  the  earth  had  opened  and 
swallowed  him.  His  disappearance  is  a  great 
mystery." 

"It  surely  is,"  agreed  Tom.  "Can't  seem  to  get 
any  trace  of  him.  But  if  we  hear  another  cry  for 
help,  when  we  have  to  land,  you  can  make  up 
your  mind  I'll  investigate  more  quickly  than  I 
did  at  first."- 

"I  agree  with  you,"  said  Mr.  Damon. 

It  was  nearly  evening  then,  and  until  it  was 
dark  enough  for  his  flight  Tom  spent  the  time 
tuning  up  the  engine  and  seeing  that  all  was  in 
readiness  for  the  latest  test.  He  had  decided  not 
to  go  aloft  while  it  was  light  enough  for  curiosity 
seekers  to  note  the  flight. 

[Tom  rather  wished  Mary  Nestor  might  have 
a  sail  with  him  in  his  latest  improved  silent  Air 
Scout,  but  the  girl  was  too  much  occupied  at 
home  and  in  trying  to  find  some  trace  of  her 
father. 

Tom,  his  father,  and  Mr.  Damon  had  helped 
all  they  could,  but  there  were  no  results.  A 
private  detective  had  been  engaged,  but  he  had 
no  more  of  a  clew  than  the  regular  police. 

At  last  it  was  dark  enough  for  the  flight,  and 


SUSPICIONS  151 

Tom  and  Mr.  Damon  took  their  places  in  the 
machine.  Once  more  the  propellers  were  turned 
around,  and  when  the  compression  had  been  made, 
and  the  spark  switched  on,  around  spun  the  big 
wooden  blades,  and  the  great  craft  moved  over 
the  grass. 

On  and  on  and  up  and  up  sailed  Tom  and  Mr. 
Damon,  and  as  they  left  behind  them  the  shops 
and  the  Swift  homestead,  the  two  passengers 
were  aware  of  their  almost  silent  flight.  The 
big  aeroplane,  the  exhaust  of  which,  ordinarily, 
would  have  nearly  deafened  them,  was  now  as 
silent  as  a  bird. 

"Silent  Sam  for  Uncle  Sam!"  cried  Tom  in 
delight,  as  he  went  on  faster.  "I'm  sure  the 
government  ouglit  to  be  glad  to  get  this  plane  for 
air  scout  work.  It's  a  success!  A  great  suc- 
cess!" 

"Yes,  so  it  it !"  agreed  Mr.  Damon.  "You  do 
well  to  speak  of  it  so,  Tom." 

For,  modest  as  the  young  inventor  was,  he 
felt,  in  justice  to  himself,  that  he  must  acknowl- 
edge the  fact  that  his  craft  was  a  success.  For 
it  rose  and  sailed  almost  as  silently  as  a  bat,  and 
a  few  hundred  feet  away  no  one,  not  seeing  it, 
would  have  believed  a  big  aeroplane  was  in  mo- 
"tion. 

Tom  and  Mr.  Damon  flew  about  twenty  miles 
at  a  swift  pace,  and  all  the  fault  Tom  had  to 


152         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

find  was  that  the  machine  was  not  as  steady  in 
flight  as  she  should  have  been. 

"But  I  can  remedy  that  with  the  use  of  some 
of  dad's  gyroscope  stabilizers,"  he  told  Mr. 
Damon. 

They  returned  to  the  hangar  safely,  and  the 
first  trip  of  the  new  Silent  Sam  was  an  assured 
success. 

It  was  the  following  day,  when  Tom  was  busy 
in  the  machine  shop  installing  the  gyroscopes 
spoken  of,  that  Jackson  came  to  tell  him  there 
was  a  visitor  to  see  him. 

"Who  is  it?"  asked  the  young  inventor. 

"Mr.  Gale  of  the  Universal  Company,"  was 
the  answer. 

"I  don't  want  to  see  him!"  declared  Tom 
quickly.  "I  have  nothing  to  say  to  him  after  his 
clumsy  threats." 

"He  seems  very  much  in  earnest,"  said  Jack- 
son. "Better  see  him,  if  only  for  a  minute  or 


so." 


"All  right,  I  will,"  assented  Tom.  "Show 
him  in." 

Mr.  Gale,  as  blusteringly  bluff  as  ever,  entered 
the  shop.  Tom  had  carefully  put  away  all  pa- 
pers and  models,  as  well  as  the  finished  machines, 
so  he  had  no  fear  that  his  visitor  might  discover 
some  secret 

"Oh,  Mr.  Swift!"  began  the  president  of  the 


SUSPICIONS  153 

Universal  Company,  when  he  met  the  young  in- 
ventor, "I  wish  to  assure  you  that  what  has  been 
done  was  entirely  without  our  knowledge.  And, 
though  this  man  may  have  acted  as  our  agent 
at  one  time,  we  repudiate  any  acts  of  his  that 
might " 

"What  are  you  talking  about?"  asked  Tom  in 
surprise.  "Have  I  been  so  impolite  as  to  sleep 
during  part  of  your  talk?  I  don't  understand 
what  you  are  driving  at." 

"Oh,  I  thought  you  did,"  said  Gale,  and  he 
showed  surprise.  "I  understood  that  the  man 
who " 

"Do  you  mean  there  was  some  one  here  in  the 
shed  last  night?"  cried  the  young  inventor  sud- 
denly, all  his  suspicions  aroused. 

"Some  one  here  last  night?"  repeated  Mr. 
Gale.  "No,  I  don't  refer  to  last  night.  But  per- 
haps I  am  making  a  mistake.  I — er — I " 

"Some  one  is  making  a  mistake!"  said  Tom 
significantly. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

ANOTHER  FLIGHT 

FOR  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  minute  Tom  Swift 
and  the  president  of  the  Universal  Flying  Ma- 
chine Company  of  New  York  sat  staring  at  one 
another.  Mr.  Gale's  face  wore  a  puzzled  ex- 
pression, and  so  did  Tom's.  And,  after  the  last 
remark  of  the  young  inventor,  the  man  who  had 
called  to  see  him  said: 

"Well,  perhaps  we  are  talking  at  cross  pur- 
poses. I  don't  blame  you  for  not  feeling  very 
friendly  toward  us,  and  if  I  had  had  my  way  that 
last  correspondence  with  you  would  never  have 
left  our  office." 

"It  wasn't  very  business-like,"  said  Tom  dryly, 
referring  to  the  veiled  threats  when  he  had  re- 
fused to  sell  his  services  to  the  rival  company. 

"I  realize  that,"  said  Mr.  Gale.  "But  we  have 
some  peculiar  men  working  for  us,  and  some- 
times there  is  so  much  to  do,  so  many  possibilities 
of  which  to  take  advantage,  that  we  may  get  a 
little  off  our  balance.  But  what  I  called  for  was 

154 


ANOTHER  FLIGHT  155 

not  to  renew  our  offer  to  you.  I  understand  that 
is  definitely  settled." 

"As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  it  is,"  said  Tom, 
as  his  caller  seemed  to  want  an  answer. 

"Yes.  Well,  then,  what  I  called  to  say  was 
that  if  you  are  thinking  of  taking  any  legal  action 
against  us  because  of  the  action  of  that  man 
Lydane,  I  wish  to  state  that  he  had  absolutely 
no  authority  to " 

"Excuse  me!"  broke  in  Tom,  "but  by  Lydane 
do  you  mean  the  man  who  also  posed  as  Bower, 
the  spy?" 

"No,  I  do  not.  Though  I  regret  to  say  that 
Bower  once  worked  for  us.  He,  too,  had  no 
authority  to  come  here  and  get  a  position.  He 
was  still  in  our  service  when  he  did  that." 

"So  I  have  suspected,"  said  Tom.  "I  realize 
now  that  he  was  a  spy,  who  came  here  to  try 
to  find  out  for  you  some  of  my  secrets." 

"Not  with  my  permission!"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Gale.  "I  was  against  that  from  the  first  and  I 
came  to  tell  you  so.  But  Bower  really  did  you 
no  harm." 

"No,  he  didn't  get  the  chance!"  chuckled  Tom. 
"Nor  did  that  other  spy — the  one  with  the  gold 
tooth.  I  wonder  how  he  liked  our  mud  hole?" 

"He  was  Lydane,"  said  Mr.  Gale.  "It  is  about 
him  I  came." 

"You  might  have  saved  yourself  the  trouble^ 


156         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

returned  Tom.     "I  don't  wish  to  discuss  him." 

"But  I  wish  to  make  sure,"  said  Mr.  Gale, 

"that  what  he  has  done  will  not  come  back  on 

us.     We  repudiate  him  entirely.     His  methods 

we  can  not  countenance.    He  is  too  daring " 

"Oh,  don't  worry!"  interrupted  Tom.  "He 
hasn't  done  anything  to  me — he  didn't  get  the 
chance,  as  I  guess  he's  told  you.  You  needn't 
apologize  on  his  account.  He  did  me  no  harm. 

and " 

"But  I  understood  from  him  that " 


"Now  I  don't  want  to  seem,  impolite!"  broke 
in  Tom,  "nor  do  I  want  to  take  pattern  after 
some  of  your  company's  acts,  if  not  your  owa 
But  I  am  very  busy.  I  have  an  important  test 
to  make  for  the  government,  and  my  time  is  fully 
occupied.  I  am  afraid  I  shall  have  to  bid  you 
good-morning  and " 

"But  won't  you  give  me  a  chance  to " 

began  the  president. 

"Now,  the  less  we  discuss  this  matter  the  bet- 
ter !"  interrupted  Tom.  "Lydane,  as  you  call  the 
man  with  the  gold  tooth  didn't  really  do  any- 
thing to  me  nor  any  great  harm  to  any  of  my 
possessions,  as  far  as  I  can  learn.  His  career 
is  a  closed  book — a  book  with  muddy  covers!'* 
and  the  young  inventor  laughed. 

"Oh,  well,  if  you  look  at  it  that  way,  there  is 
nothing  further  for  me  to  say"  said  Mr.  Gale 


ANOTHER  FLIGHT  157 

stiffly.  "I  understood —  But  hasn't  my  partner, 
Mr.  Ware,  seen  you?"  he  asked  Tom  quickly. 

"No.    And  I  don't  care  to  see  him." 

"Oh,  then  that  accounts  for  it,"  was  the  quick 
answer.  "Well,  if  you  regard  the  matter  as 
closed  I  suppose  we  should  also.  We  are  not  to 
blame  for  what  Lydane  does  when  he  is  no  longer 
in  our  employ,  and  we  repudiate  anything  he  may 
dow  or  may  have  done." 

This  struck  Tom,  afterward,  as  being  rather 
a  queer  remark,  but  he  did  not  think  so  at  the 
ttme. 

The  truth  was  that  the  young  inventor  wished 
very  much  to  try  out  a  new  device  on  his  noise- 
kss  aeroplane  and  wanted  to  get  rid  of  Mr.  Gale 
before  doing  so.  So  he  did  not  pay  as  much 
attention  to  the  remarks  of  the  president  as,  other- 
wise, he  might  have  done. 

It  was  not  until  after  Mr.  Gale  had  taken  his 
leave  and  Tom  had  finished  the  particular  work 
on  which  he  was  engaged  when  the  president  of 
the  rival  company  came  in,  that  the  young  man 
did  some  hard  thinking.  And  this  thinking  was 
done  after  he  had  received  a  telephone  call  from 
Mary  Nestor,  asking,  if  by  any  chance,  he  had 
heard  anything  like  a  clew  as  to  the  whereabouts 
of  her  father. 

Tom  had  been  obliged  to  tell  her  that  he  had 
not.  Everything  possible  was  being  done  to  find 


158         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

the  missing  man  but  he  had  disappeared  as  com- 
pletely as  though  he  had  ridden  on  his  bicycle 
into  the  crater  of  some  extinct  volcano  on  the 
meadow,  and  had  fallen  to  the  bottom. 

An  effort  was  made  to  trace  him  through  an 
automobile  association  which  had  a  large  mem- 
bership. That  is,  the  members  were  asked  to 
make  inquiries  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  whether 
any  one  had  heard  of  an  unreported  accident-^- 
one  in  which  Mr.  Nestor  might  have  been  carried 
away  by  persons  who  accidently  ran  him  down. 

But  this  came  to  naught,  and  the  police  and 
other  authorities  were  at  a  loss  how  farther  to 
proceed.  It  was  a  theory  in  some  quarters  that 
Mr.  Nestor  was  perfectly  safe,  but  that  he  was 
out  of  his  mind,  and  was  either  wandering 
around,  not  knowing  who  he  was,  or  was,  in  this 
condition,  detained  somewhere,  the  persons  hav- 
ing him  in  charge  not  realizing  that  he  was  the 
missing  man  so  widely  sought. 

This  belief  was  a  relief  to  Mrs.  Nestor  and 
Mary  in  many  ways  for  it  prevented  them  from 
giving  way  to  the  fear  that  Mr.  Nestor  was  dead. 
HThat  he  was  alive  was  Tom  Swift's  firm  opinion, 
and  he  was  doing  all  he  could  to  prove  it. 

It  was  not  until  the  day  after  the  visit  of  Mr. 
Gale  that  Tom,  having  concluded  some  intricate 
calculations  about  the  strength  of  cylinder  valves, 
uttered  an  exclamation. 


ANOTHER  FLIGHT  159 

"I  wonder  if  he  could  have  meant  that?"  cried 
the  young  inventor.  "I  wonder  if  he  could  have 
meant  that?  I  must  find  out  at  once!  Queer 
I  didn't  think  of  that  before!" 

He  put  in  a  long  distance  call  to  New  York, 
asking  to  speak  to  Mr.  Gale.  But  when,  eventu- 
ally, he  was  connected  with  the  office  of  the  Uni- 
versal Flying  Machine  Company  he  was  told  that 
Mr.  Gale  and  Mr.  Ware  had  sailed  for  France 
that  day,  going  over  as  government  representa- 
tives to  investigate  aeroplane  motors.  Gale's 
visit  to  Tom  had  been  just  previous  to  taking  the 
boat,  it  was  said. 

"This  is  tough  luck!"  mused  Tom,  his  suspi- 
cions doubly  aroused  now.  "I  can't  let  this  rest 
here!  I've  got  to  get  after  it!  As  soon  as  I 
make  this  final  test,  and  invite  Uncle  Sam's  ex- 
perts out  to  see  how  my  noiseless  motor  works, 
I'll  get  after  Gale  and  Ware  if  I  have  to  follow 
them  to  the  battlefields  of  France!  I  wonder  if 
it  was  that  he  was  hinting  at  all  the  while!  I 
begin  to  believe  it  was!" 

Tom  Swift  had  decided  on  another  flight  for 
his  new  craft  before  he  would  let  the  government 
experts  see  it. 

"Silent  Sam  must  do  his  very  best  work  for 
Uncle  Sam  before  I  turn  him  over,"  said  the 
young  inventor. 

"And  after  this  flight  I'll  offer  the  machine  to 


l6o         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

the  government,  and  then  devote  all  my  time  to 
finding  Mr.  Nestor,"  said  Tom.  "I'd  do  it  now, 
but  private  matters,  however  deeply  they  affect 
us,  must  be  put  aside  to  help  win  the  war.  But 
this  will  end  my  inventive  work  until  after  Mr. 
Nestor  is  found — if  he's  alive." 

Preparations  for  the  test  flight  went  on  apace, 
and  one  afternoon  Tom  and  Jackson  took  their 
places  in  the  big,  new  aeroplane.  He  no  longer 
feared  daylight  crowds  in  case  of  an  accident. 
They  made  a  good  start,  and  the  motor  was  so 
quiet  that  as  Tom  passed  over  his  own  plant 
the  men  working  in  the  yard,  who  did  not  know 
of  the  flight,  did  not  look  up  to  see  what  was  go- 
ing on.  They  could  not  hear  the  engine. 

"I  think  we've  got  everything  just  as  we  want 
it,  Jackson,"  said  Tom,  much  pleased. 

"I  believe  you,"  answered  the  machanician.  "It 
couldn't  be  better.  Now  if " 

And  at  that  moment  there  came  a  loud  explo- 
sion, and  Silent  Sam  began  drifting  rapidly  to- 
ward the  earth,  as  falls  a  bird  with  a  broken 
wing. 


CHAPTER  XX 

QUEER  MARKS 

"WHAT  happened?"  cried  Jackson  to  Tom,  as 
he  leaned  forward  in  his  seat  which  was  in  the 
rear  of  the  young  inventor's. 

"Pon't  know,  exactly,"  was  the  answer,  as 
Tom  quickly  shifted  the  rudders  to  correct  the 
slanting  fall  of  his  craft.  "Sounded  as  though 
there  was  a  tremendous  back-fire,  or  else  the  muf- 
fler blew  up.  The  engine  is  dead." 

"Can  you  take  her  down  safely?" 

"Oh,  yes,  I  guess  so.  She's  a  bit  out  of  con- 
trol, but  the  stabilizer  will  keep  her  on  a  level 
keel.  Good  thing  we  installed  it." 

"You're  right!"  said  Jackson. 

Now  they  were  falling  earthward  with  great 
rapidity,  but,  thanks  to  the  gyroscope  stabilizer, 
the  "side-slipping,"  than  which  there  is  no  motion 
more  dreaded  by  an  aviator,  had  nearly  ceased. 
The  craft  was  volplaning  down  as  it  ought,  and 
Tom  had  it  under  as  perfect  control  as  was  pos- 
sible under  the  circumstances. 

161 


162         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"We'll  get  down  all  right  if  something  else 
doesn't  happen,"  he  said  to  Jackson,  with  grim 
humor. 

"Well,  let' s  hope  that  it  won't,"  said  the  me- 
chanic. "We're  a  good  distance  up  yet." 

They  were,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  for  the  explo- 
sion, or  whatever  had  happened  to  the  craft,  had 
occurred  at  a  height  of  over  two  miles,  and  they 
at  once  began  falling.  As  yet  Tom  Swift  was 
unaware  of  the  exact  nature  of  the  accident  or 
its  cause.  All  he  knew  was  that  there  had  been  a 
big  noise  and  that  the  engine  had  stopped  work- 
ing. He  could  not  see  the  silencer  from  where 
he  sat,  as  it  was  constructed  on  the  underside  of 
the  motor,  but  he  had  an  idea  that  the  same  sort 
of  mishap  had  occurred  as  on  the  occasion  when 
the  test  machine  had  sailed  through  the  roof  of 
his  workshop. 

"But,  luckily,  this  wasn't  as  bad,"  mused  Tom. 
"Anyhow  the  motor  is  out  of  business." 

And  this  was  very  evident.  The  young  inven^ 
tor  had  tried  to  start  the  apparatus  after  its  stop- 
page by  the  explosion,  but  it  had  not  responded 
to  his  efforts,  and  then  he  had  desisted,  fearing 
to  cause  some  further  damage,  or,  perhaps,  en-* 
danger  his  own  life  and  that  of  Jackson. 

Down,  down  swept  Silent  Sam — doubly  silent 
now,  and  Tom  began  looking  about  for  a  good 
place  to  make  a  landing.  This  was  nothing  new 


QUEER  MARKS  163 

for  either  him  or  his  mechanician,  and  they  ac- 
cepted the  outcome  as  a  matter  of  course. 

"Not  a  very  lively  place  down  there,"  remarked 
Jackson,  as  he  looked  over  the  side  of  the  cock- 
pit. 

"If  we  have  to  depend  for  help  on  any  one 
down  there,  I  guess  we'll  be  a  long  time  wait- 
ing," agreed  Tom.  They  were  about  to  land  in 
a  very  lonely  spot.  It  was  one  he  had  never  be- 
fore visited,  though  he  knew  it  could  not  be  much 
more  than  twenty  miles  from  his  own  home,  as 
they  had  not  flown  much  farther  than  that  dis- 
tance. 

But,  somehow  or  other,  Tom  had  not  visited 
this  particular  section,  and  knew  nothing  of  it. 
He  saw  below  him,  as  Jackson  had  seen,  a  lonely 
stretch  of  country — a  big  field,  once  a  wood-lot, 
evidently,  as  scattered  about  were  some  stumps 
and  some  second  growth  trees.  There  were  also 
a  number  of  evergreens — Christmas  trees  Jack- 
son called  them.  And  this  was  the  only  open 
place  for  miles,  the  surrounding  country  being 
a  densely  wooded  one.  There  did  not  appear  to 
be  a  house  or  other  building  in  sight  where  they 
might  seek  help. 

"But  maybe  we  can  make  the  repairs  ourselves 
and  keep  on,"  the  lad  thought. 

With  practiced  eye  he  picked  out  a  smooth, 
grassy,  level  spot,  in  the  midst  of  scattered  ever- 


164         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

green  trees,  and  there  Tom  Swift  skilfully  brought 
his  Air  Scout  to  rest.  With  a  gentle  thud  the 
rubber-tired  wheels  struck  the  earth,  rolled  along 
a  little  distance,  and  then  came  to  a  stop. 

Hardly  had  the  aeroplane  ceased  moving 
when  Tom  and  his  companion  jumped  out  and 
began  eagerly  to  examine  the  machinery  to  see 
the  extent  of  damage. 

"I  thought  so  I"  Tom  exclaimed.  "The  silencer 
cracked  under  the  strain.  Those  exhaust  gases 
have  more  pressure  that  I  believed  possible.  I 
increased  the  margin  of  safety  on  this  muffler, 
too.  But  she's  cracked,  and  I  can't  use  the  ma- 
chine until  I  put  on  a  new  one.  Good  thing  I 
didn't  ask  for  a  government  inspection  until  af- 
ter this  trial  flight." 

"That's  so,"  agreed  Jackson.  "But  can't  you 
patch  it  up,  or  go  on  without  a  muffler,  so  we  can 
get  back;  home?" 

"I'm  afraid  not,"  Tom  answered.  "You  see  I 
removed  all  the  old  exhaust  pipe  fittings  when  I 
put  on  my  new  silencer.  Now  if  I  took  off  my 
attachment  there  wouldn't  be  anything  to  carry 
off  the  discharged  gases,  and  they'd  form  a  regu- 
lar cloud  about  us.  We  couldn't  stand  it  without 
gas  masks,  such  as  they  use  in  the  trenches,  and 
we  haven't  any  of  those  with  us." 

"That's  right,"  agreed  Jackson.  "Well,  what 
io  you  want  to  do?  Have  me  stay  here  and 


QUEER  MARKS  165 

guard  the  machine  while  you  go  for  help?  Or 
shall  I  go?" 

"I  don't  know  why  we  both  can't  go/1  said 
Tom.  'There's  no  use  trying  to  patch  up  this 
machine  here.  I'll  have  to  send  a  truck  after  it, 
and  dismantle  it  before  I  can  get  it  home. 

"As  for  either  of  us  staying  here  on  guard,  I 
don't  quite  see  the  need  of  that.  This  looks  like 
the  jumping-off  place  to  me.  I  don't  believe 
there's  a  native  within  miles.  I  didn't  see  any 
houses  as  we  came  down,  and  I  think  Silent  Sam 
will  be  perfectly  safe  here.  No  one  can  run  off 
with  him,  anyhow.  He'd  be  as  hard  to  start  as 
an  automobile  with  all  four  wheels  gone.  Let's 
leave  it  here  and  both  walk  back." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Jackson.  "That  suits  me. 
Might  as  well  leave  our  togs  here,  too.  It  will  be 
easier  walking  without  them,"  and  he  began  tak- 
ing off  the  fur-lined  suit,  his  cap,  and  his  goggles, 
such  as  he  and  Tom  wore  against  the  piercing 
cold  of  the  upper  regions. 

"We  can  stuff  them  in  the  cockpit  and  leave 
them,"  went  on  the  mechanician,  as  he  divested 
himself  of  his  garments.  As  he  stowed  them 
away  in  his  seat  he  gave  one  more  look  at  the 
broken  muffler.  As  Tom  Swift  said,  his  new 
silencer  had  literally  blown  up,  a  large  piece 
having  been  torn  from  the  gas  chamber. 

Something  that  Jackson  saw  caused  him  to  ut- 


166         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

ter  an  exclamation  that  brought  Jom  Swift  to 
his  side. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  the  young  inventor. 

"Look!"  was  the  answer.  "See!  Just  at  the 
edge  of  that  break!  It's  been  filed  to  make  tha 
metal  thinner  there  than  anywhere  else.  You 
didn't  do  that,  did  you?" 

"I  should  say  not!"  cried  Tom.  "Why,  to  file 
there  would  mean  to  weaken  the  whole  structure." 

"And  that's  exactly  what's  happened!"  de- 
clared Jackson,  as  he  gave  another  look.  "Some 
one  has  filed  this  nearly  through — leaving  only 
a  thin  metal  skin,  and  when  the  gas  pressure  be- 
came too  much  it  blew  out.  ;That's  what  hap- 
pened!" 

Tom  Swift  made  a  quick  but  thorough  ex- 
amination. 

"You're  right,  Jackson !"  he  exclaimed.  "That 
was  filed  deliberately  to  cause  the  accident.  And 
it  must  have  been  done  lately,  for  I  carefully  in- 
spected the  silencer  when  I  put  it  on,  and  it  was 
in  perfect  order.  There's  been  spy  work  here. 
Some  one  got  into  the  hangar  and  filed  that  cas* 
ing.  Then  the  accumulated  pressure  of  the  gasef 
did  the  rest." 

"As  sure  as  you're  alive!"  agreed  Jackson. 
"Maybe  that's  what  Gale  did  when  he  called." 

"No,"  returned  Tom,  shaking  his  head,  "he 
didn't  get  a  chance  to  do  anything  like  that.  I 


QUEER  MARKS  167 

jvatched  him  all  the  while.  But  perhaps  this  is 
what  he  referred  to  when  he  said  he  and  his 
company  would  repudiate  any  act  of  that  spy 
with  the  gold  tooth — Lydane,  so  Gale  said  his 
name  was.  Maybe  that's  what  Lydane  did." 

"He  was  capable  of  it,"  agreed  the  mechanic, 
"but  he  couldn't  have  done  it  that  time  you 
tripped  him  into  the  mud  puddle.  This  silencer 
wasn't  built  then." 

"No,  you're  right,"  assented  Tom.  "Then  he 
must  have  been  around  since,  doing  some  of  his 
tricky  work !" 

"I  don't  see  how  that  could  have  been,"  said 
Jackson  slowly.  "We've  kept  a  very  careful 
Watch,  and  your  shop  has  been  specially  guarded." 

"I  know  it  has,"  said  Tom.  "There  couldn't 
much  get  past  Koku ;  but  some  one  seems  to  have 
done  it,  or  else  how  could  that  filing  have  been 
done?" 

Jackson  shook  his  head.  The  problem  was  too 
much  for  him.  He  looked  carefully  at  the  ex- 
ploded and  broken  silencer,  and  Tom,  too,  gave 
it  a  critical  eye.  There  was  no  doubt  but  that  it 
had  been  filed  in  several  places  to  weaken  the 
structure  of  the  metal. 

"When  did  you  last  see  that  it  was  in  perfect 
condition?"  asked  Jackson. 

Tom  named  a  certain  date. 

"That  was  just  before  Gale  called,"  observed 


108         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

the  mechanician.    "He  might  have  known  of  it" 

"I  wish  I'd  known  of  it  at  the  time,"  said  Tom 
savagely.  "He  wouldn't  have  gotten  away  as 
easily  as  he  did.  Well,  there's  no  use  standing 
here  talking  about  it.  Let's  get  back  to  civiliza- 
tion and  we'll  send  back  one  of  the  trucks.  Luck- 
ily I  have  another  silencer  I  can  put  on  for  the 
government  test.  This  one  will  never  be  of  any 
more  use,  though  I  may  be  able  to  save  some  of 
the  valves  and  baffle  plates." 

Slowly  they  turned  from  the  disabled  aero* 
plane  and  started  to  look  for  a  path  that  would 
lead  them  out  of  the  lonely  place.  Tom  was  the 
first  to  strike  what  seemed  to  be  a  cow  path,  or 
perhaps  what  had  been  a  road  into  the  wood  lot 
in  the  early  days. 

As  he  tramped  along  it,  followed  by  Jackson, 
the  young  inventor  suddenly  stopped,  as  he  came 
to  a  sandy  place,  ancf,  stooping  over,  looked  in- 
tently at  some  queer  marks  in  the  soil. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  the  mechanician. 

"Looks  like  the  marks  of  an  automobile,"  said 
Tom  slowly.  "And  I  was  just  trying  to  remem- 
ber where  I'd  seen  marks  like  these  before." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  DESERTED    CABIN 

FOR  several  seconds  the  young  inventor  re- 
mained bending  over  the  queer  marks  in  that 
little  sandy  path  of  the  lonely  field  in  the  midst 
of  the  silent  woods.  Jackson  watched  him  curi- 
ously, and  then  Tom  straightened  up,  exclaiming 
as  he  did  so : 

"I  have  it !  Now  I  know  where  it  was !  I  saw 
marks  like  these  the  night  Mr.  Nestor  disap- 
peared. Mr.  Damon  and  I  noticed  the  marks  in 
the  dust  on  the  road  the  time  we  made  the  forced 
landing  the  first  night  we  tried  out  the  silent 
motor.  That's  it!  They  are  the  same  marks! 
I'm  sure  of  it!" 

"I  wouldn't  go  so  far  as  to  say  that,"  said 
Jackson  slowly.  He  was  more  deliberate  than 
Tom  Swift,  a  fact  for  which  the  young  inventor 
was  often  glad,  as  it  saved  him  from  impulsive 
mistakes. 

"This  may  not  be  the  same  auto,"  went  on  the 
mechanician.  "I'll  admit  I  never  saw  square  tire 

169 


170         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

marks  like  those  before.  Most  of  the  usual  ones 
are  circular,  diamond-shape  or  oblong.  Some  tire 
manufacturer  must  have  tried  a  new  stunt.  But 
as  for  saying  these  marks  were  made  by  the 
same  machine  you  saw  evidences  of  the  night 
Mr.  Nestor  disappeared,  why,  that's  going  a  little 
too  far,  Tom." 

"Yes,  I  suppose  it  is,"  admitted  the  young  in* 
ventor.  "But  it's  a  clew  worth  following.  May* 
be  Mr.  Nestor  has  been  brought  to  some  lonely 
place  like  this,  and  is  being  held." 

"Why  would  any  one  want  to  do  that?"  asked 
Jackson.  "He  had  no  enemies." 

"Well,  perhaps  those  who  ran  him  down  and 
injured  him  are  afraid  to  let  him  go  for  fear  he 
;will  prosecute  them  and  ask  for  heavy  damages/' 
suggested  Tom.  "They  may  be  holding  him  a 
captive  until  he  gets  well,  and  aim  on  treating 
him  so  nicely  that  he  won't  bring  suit." 

"That's  a  pretty  far-fetched  theory,"  said  th^ 
mechanician  as  he  carefully  looked  at  the  tracks. 
"But  of  course  it  may  be  true.  Anyhow,  these 
tire  marks  are  rather  recent,  I  should  say,  and 
they  are  made  by  a  new  tire.  Do  you  think  we 
can  follow  them?" 

"I'm  going  to  try!"  declared  Tom.  "The  only 
trouble  is  we  can't  tell  whether  it  was  going  or 
coming — that  is  we  don't  know  which  way  to> 
go." 


THE  DESERTED  CABIN 

"Jhat's  so,"  agreed  his  companion.  "And  so 
jthe  only  thing  to  do  is  to  travel  a  bit  both  ways. 
[The  path,  or  road,  or  whatever  you  call  it,  is 
plainly  enough  marked  here,  though  you  can't 
always  pick  out  the  tire  marks.  They  show  only 
on  bare  ground.  The  grass  doesn't  leave  any 
tracks  that  we  can  see,  though  doubtless  they  are 
there. 

"But  as  for  thinking  this  car  is  the  same  one 
the  marks  of  which  you  saw  on  the  lonely  moor, 
the  night  you  heard  the  call  for  help— that's 
going  too  far,  Tom  Swift." 

"Yes,  I  realize  that.  Of  course  there  must  be 
more  than  one  car  with  tires  which  have  square 
protuberances.  But  it's  worth  taking  a  chance 
on — following  this  clew." 

"Oh,  sure!"  agreed  Jackson. 

"The  only  question  is,  then,  which  way  to  go," 
returned  Tom. 

;They  settled  that,  arbitrarily  enough,  by  going 
on  in  the  direction  they  had  started  after  leaving 
the  stranded  airship.  They  followed  a  half-de- 
fined path,  and  were  rewarded  by  getting  occa- 
sional glimpses  on  bare  ground  of  the  odd  tire 
marks. 

Through  a  devious  winding  way,  now  hidden 
amid  a  lane  of  trees,  and  again  cutting  across 
an  open  space,  the  path  led.  They  saw  the  marks 
often  enough  to  make  sure  they  were  on  the  right 


172         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

trail,  and  in  one  place  they  saw  several  different 
patches  of  the  odd  marks. 

They  went  on  perhaps  half  a  mile  more,  when! 
they  came  to  a  lonely  road  and  saw  where  the 
car  had  turned  from  that  into  the  wood-lot,  as 
Tom  called  the  place  where  his  craft  had  settled 
down. 

"Look!"  cried  the  young  inventor  to  Jackson. 
"They've  been  here  more  than  once,  and  have 
gone  along  the  road  in  both  directions.  They 
seem  to  have  used  this  turning  into  the  lot  as  a 
sort  of  stopping  place." 

This  was  plain  enough  from  an  examination 
of  the  marks  in  the  sandy  soil  of  the  road,  which 
was  one  not  often  used.  The  automobile  with 
the  queer,  square  marks  on  the  tires  had  turned 
into  the  lot,  coming  and  going  in  both  directions. 

"This  settles  it!"  cried  Tom,  when  he  finished 
making  an  examination.  "There's  something 
farther  back  in  this  lot  that  we've  got  to  see.  This 
auto  has  been  coming  and  going,  and  we  should 
have  followed  the  tracks  the  other  way  from 
the  point  where  we  first  saw  them,  instead  of 
coming  this  way." 

"Except  that  we've  learned  the  place  of  depar- 
ture," suggested  Jackson.  "Evidently  the  wood- 
lot  is  a  blind  alley.  The  car  goes  in,  but  it  can 
come  out  only  just  at  this  point,  or,  at  least,  it 
does,* 


THE  DESERTED  CABIN  173 

"That's  right!"  agreed  Tom.  "Now  the  thing 
to  do  is  to  follow  our  track  back  to  where  we 
started.  There  must  be  some  place  where  the 
car  went  to — some  headquarters,  or  meeting 
place  with  some  one,  farther  back  in  the  lot.  If 
we  can  only  follow  the  trail  back  as  well  as  we 
did  coming,  we  may  find  out  something." 

"Well,  let's  try,  anyhow,"  suggested  Jackson. 

They  had  no  difficulty  in  making  their  way 
back  to  the  spot  where  they  had  first  seen  the 
queer  marks.  But  from  then  on  their  task  was 
not  so  easy.  For  sandy  or  bare  patches  of  earth 
were  not  frequent,  and  they  had  to  depend  on 
these  to  give  them  direction,  for  the  road  was 
overgrown  and  not  well  defined. 

Often  they  would  search  about  for  some  time 
after  leaving  one  patch  of  the  marks  before  they 
found  another  that  would  justify  them  in  keep- 
ing on. 

"They  have  headquarters,  or  a  rendezvous, 
somewhere  back  in  this  lot!"  declared  Tom,  as 
they  hurried  on.  "I  think  we're  on  the  track  of 
a  mystery." 

"Unless  it  turns  out  that  some  farmer  has 
treated  himself  to  an  auto  with  new  tires  of 
square  tread,  and  is  hauling  wood,"  said  Jackson. 
"It  may  turn  out  that  way." 

"Yes,  it  may,"  agreed  Tom.  "But,  taking 
everything  into  consideration,  I  think  we're  on 


174         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

the  verge  of  finding  out  something.  Even  if  we 
do  discover  that  the  owner  of  thi*  auto  is  only 
hauling  wood,  he  may  be  able  to  help  us  to  a  clew 
as  to  the  whereabouts  of  Mr.  Nestor." 

"How?" 

"Well,  maybe  he  was  in  his  machine  on  the 
moor  the  night  the  call  for  help  came.  He  may 
even  have  aided  to  carry  Mr.  Nestor  away.  And 
if  he  doesn't  know  a  thing  about  it — which,  of 
course,  is  possible — the  man  who  bought  these 
queer  tires  can  tell  us  who  makes  them,  or  who 
deals  in  them,  and  we  can  find  out  what  autoists 
around  here  have  their  cars  equipped  with  this 
odd  tread." 

"Yes,"  agreed  Jackson,  "that  can  be  done." 

And  so  they  kept  on,  scouting  here  and  there 
to  either  side  of  the  half -defined  path,  until  they 
were  far  back  from  the  spot  where  they  had  left 
the  Air  Scout. 

"We  don't  appear  to  be  getting  any  'warmer, 
as  the  children  say,"  remarked  Jackson,  as  he 
straightened  up  and  looked  about,  for  his  back 
ached  from  so  much  stooping  over  to  look  for  the 
odd  marks. 

"We  haven't  seen  anything  yet,  I'll  admit," 
said  Tom.  "But  it  won't  be  dark  for  another 
hour  or  so,  and  I  vote  that  we  keep  on." 

"Oh,  I  wasn't  thinking  of  giving  up!"  ex- 
claimed Jackson.  "If  there's  anything  here— at 


THE  DESERTED  CABIN  175 

the  end  of  the  route,  as  you  might  say — we'll  find 
it,  Only  I  hope  it  doesn't  turn  out  to  be  just  a 
wood  pile,  from  which  some  farmer  has  been  haul- 
ing logs." 

"That  would  be  a  disappointment,"  assented 
[Tom. 

The  day  was  waning,  and  they  realized  that 
they  ought  not  to  spend  too  much  time  on  what 
might  turn  out  to  be  a  wild  goose  chase.  They 
were  in  a  lonely  neighborhood,  and  while  they 
were  not  at  all  apprehensive  of  danger,  they  felt 
it  would  be  best  to  get  to  shelter  before  dark. 

"We'll  want  to  send  word  to  Mr.  Swift  that 
Sve're  all  right." 

"Yes,"  said  Tom,  "I'd  like  to  get  to  a  place 
where  I  can  telephone  to  him  or  Mrs.  Baggert. 
[Well,  if  we  don't  find  something  pretty  soon 
we'll  have  to  turn  back.  I  must  complete  work 
on  the  new  motor,  for  if  I'm  to  offer  it  to  Uncle 
Sam  for  air  scout  purposes,  the  sooner  I  can  do 
so  the  better.  Things  are  getting  pretty  hot  over 
in  Europe,  and  if  ever  the  United  States  needed 
aircraft  on  the  western  front  they  need  them  now. 
I  want  to  help  all  I  can,  and  I  also  want  to  help 
Mary — you  understand — Miss  Nestor." 

"I  understand,"  said  Jackson  simply.  "I  only 
hope  you  can  help  her.  But  I'm  afraid  this  may 
turn  out  to  be  nothing — following  these  marks, 
you  know." 


176         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"And  yet,"  said  Tom  slowly,  "it  would  be 
strange  if  it  was  only  a  coincidence — the  twx> 
tire  marks  being  the  same — the  night  Mr.  Nes- 
tor disappeared  and  now." 

And  so  they  kept  on,  hoping. 

The  half -defined  path  through  the  wood-tot 
led  them  in  a  series  of  turns  and  twists,  and  it 
extended  through  a  dense  patch  of  woods,  grow- 
ing thickly,  where  it  was  so  dark  that  it  seemed 
as  if  night  had  fallen. 

"We  can't  spend  much  more  time  here,"  sa'id 
Tom.  "If  we  don't  find  something  in  the  ne:<t 
half  mile  we'll  go  back  and  take  up  the  search 
to-morrow.  I'm  going  to  find  out  what's  at  the 
end  of  this  road — even  if  it's  only  a  wood  pile  " 

For  ten  minutes  more  the  two  went  on,  making 
sure,  by  occasional  glimpses  at  the  marks,  that 
they  were  on  the  right  track.  Then,  suddenly, 
they  saw  something  which  made  them  feel  sure 
they  had  reached  their  goal. 

In  a  clearing  among  the  trees  was  a  little  cabin 
- — a  shack  of  logs — and  from  the  appearance  it 
was  deserted.  There  was  not  a  sign  of  life  around 
it 


CHAPTER  XXII 

CLEWS  AT  LAST 

FOR  a  moment,  at  sight  of  the  deserted  cabin, 
staring  at  Tom  and  his  friend,  as  it  were,  from 
its  hiding  place  amid  the  trees,  the  young  inven- 
tor and  his  companion  did  not  move.  They  just 
stood  looking  at  the  place. 

"Well,"  sai'd  Tom,  at  length,  "we  found  it, 
didn't  we?" 

"We  found  something  anyhow,"  agreed  Jack- 
son. "Whether  it  amounts  to  anything  or  not, 
we've  got  to  see." 

"Come  on!"  cried  Tom,  impulsively.  "I'm 
going  to  see  what's  there." 

"There  doesn't  appear  to  be  much  of  any- 
thing," said  Jackson,  as  he  looked  toward  the 
lonely  cabin  with  critical  eyes.  "I  should  say 
that  place  hadn't  been  used,  even  as  a  chicken 
coop,  in  a  long  while." 

"We  can  soon  tell!"  exclaimed  Tom,  striding 
forward. 

"Wait  just  a  minute!"  cried  his  companion, 
177 


178         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

catching  him  by  the  coat.  "Don't  be  in  such  a 
hurry." 

"Why  not?"  asked  Tom.  "There  isn't  any 
danger,  is  there?" 

"I  don't  know  about  that.  There's  no  telling 
yvho  may  be  hidden  in  that  cabin,  in  spite  of  its 
deserted  appearance.  And  though  there  aren't 
any  'No  Trespass*  signs  up,  it  may  be  that  we 
wouldn't  be  welcome.  If  there  are  some  tramps 
there,  which  is  possible,  they  might  take  a  notion 
to  shoot  at  us  first  and  ask  questions  as  to  our 
peaceable  intentions  afterward — when  it  would  te 
too  late." 

"Nonsense!"  exclaimed  Tom.  "There  aren't 
any  tramps  there  and,  if  there  were,  they  wouldn't 
dare  shoot.  I'm  going  to  see  what  the  mystery 
is — if  there  is  one." 

But  there  was  no  sign  of  life,  and,  taking  this 
as  an  indication  that  their  advance  would  not  be 
disputed,  Jackson  followed  Tom.  The  latter  ad- 
vanced until  he  could  take  in  all  the  details  of 
the  shack.  It  was  made  of  logs,  and  once  had 
been  chinked  with  mud  or  clay.  Some  of  this  had 
fallen  out,  leaving  spaces  between  the  tree 
trunks. 

"It  wasn't  a  bad  little  shack  at  one  time,"  de- 
cided Tom.  "Maybe  it  was  a  place  where  sorae 
one  camped  out  during  the  summer.  But  it  hasn't 
been  used  of  late.  I  never  knew  there  was  such 


CLEWS  AT  LAST  179 

a  place  around  here,  and  I  thought  I  knew  this 
locality  pretty  well." 

"I  never  heard  of  it,  either/'  said  Jackson. 
"Let's  give  a  shout  and  see  if  there's  any  one 
around.  They  may  be  asleep.  Hello,  there!" 
he  called  in  sufficiently  vigorous  tones  to  have 
awakened  an  ordinary  sleeper. 

But  there  was  no  answer,  and  as  the  shadows 
of  the  night  began  to  fall,  the  place  took  on  a 
most  lonely  aspect. 

"Let's  go  up  and  knock — or  go  in  if  the  door's 
open,"  suggested  Tom.  "We  can't  lose  any  more 
time,  if  we're  to  get  out  of  here  before  night." 

"*Go  ahead,"  said  Jackson,  and  together  they 
went  to  the  cabin  door. 

"Locked!"  exclaimed  Tom,  as  he  saw  a  pad- 
lock attached  to  a  chain.  It  appeared  to  be  fas- 
tened through  two  staples,  driven  one  into  the 
door  and  the  other  into  the  jamb,  at  right  angles 
to  one  another  and  overlapping. 

"Knock !"  suggested  Jackson.  But  when  Tom 
had  done  so,  and  there  was  no  answer,  the  ma- 
chinist took  hold  of  the  lock.  To  his  own  sur- 
prise and  that  of  Tom,  one  of  the  staples  pulled 
out  and  the  door  swung  open.  The  place  had 
evidently  been  forced  before,  and  the  lock  had 
not  been  opened  by  a  key.  The  staple  had  been 
pulled  out  and  replaced  loosely  in  the  holes. 

For  a  moment  nothing  could  be  made  out  in 


l8o         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

the  dark  interior  of  the  shack.  But  as  their  eyes 
became  used  to  the  gloom,  Tom  and  his  com- 
panion were  able  to  see  that  the  shack  consisted 
of  two  rooms. 

In  the  first  one  there  was  a  rusty  stove,  a  table, 
and  some  chairs,  and  it  was  evident,  from  pans 
and  skillets  hanging  on  the  wall,  as  well  as  from 
a  small  cupboard  built  on  one  side,  that  this  was 
the  kitchen  and  living  room  combined. 

"Anybody  here?"  cried  Tom,  as  he  stepped 
inside. 

Only  a  dull  echo  answered. 

The  two  could  now  see  where  a  door  gave  en- 
trance to  an  inner  room,  and  this,  a  quick  glance 
showed,  was  the  sleeping  apartment,  two  bunks 
being  built  on  the  side  walls. 

'Well,  somebody  had  it  pretty  comfortable 
here,"  decided  Tom,  as  he  looked  around. 
"They've  been  cooking  and  sleeping  here,  and  not 
so  very  long  ago,  either.  It  wouldn't  be  such  a 
bad  place  if  it  was  cleaned  out." 

"That's  right,"  agreed  Jackson.  "Wouldn't 
mind  camping  here  myself,  if  there  was  any 
fishing  near." 

"The  river  can't  be  far  away,"  suggested  Tom. 
"And  now  let's  see  what  we  catt  find,  and  see 
if  we  can  get  a  line  on  who  has  been  here.  But 
first  we'll  let  in  a  little  light." 

He  opened  a  window  in  the  sleeping  room,  and 


CLEWS  AT  LAST  l8l 

pushed  back  the  heavy  plank  shutter  that  had  been 
closed.  When  the  light  entered  it  was  seen  that 
both  bunks  bore  evidence  of  having  been  lately 
slept  in.  The  blankets  were  tossed  back,  as  if 
the  occupants  had  risen,  and  in  the  outer  room, 
on  the  stove,  were  signs  that  indicated  a  meal  had 
Ibeen  served  not  many  days  gone  by. 

"Now,"  observed  Tom  musingly,  as  he  wan- 
dered about  the  place,  "if  we  could  only  find 
cut  who  owns  this,  and  who  has  been  here 
lately " 

Jackson  stooped  over,  and,  thrusting  aside  an 
end  of  the  blankets  that  trailed  on  the  floor  from 
one  of  the  bunks,  picked  up  something. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Tom. 

"Looks  like  a  leather  pocketbook,"  was  the 
answer.  "That's  what  it  is,"  the  mechanic  went 
on,  as  he  held  the  object  to  the  light.  "It's  a 
wallet." 

"Let  me  see  it !"  exclaimed  Tom  quickly.  He 
took  the  wallet  from  the  hands  of  Jackson.  Then 
the  young  inventor  uttered  a  cry.  "A  clew  at 
last !"  he  exclaimed.  "A  clew  at  last !  Mr.  Nes- 
tor has  been  in  this  cabin!" 

"How  do  you  know?"  asked  Jackson  quickly. 

"This  is  his  wallet,"  said  Tom  excitedly.  "I've 
often  seen  him  have  it.  In  fact  he  had  it  with 
him  on  Earthquake  Island,  the  time  I  sent  the 
wireless  message  for  help.  I  saw  it  several  times 


182         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

then.  He  kept  in  it  what  few  papers  he  had  saved 
from  the  wreck.  And  I've  seen  it  often  enough 
since.  That's  Mr.  Nestor's  wallet  all  right.  Be- 
sides, if  you  want  any  other  evidence — look!" 

He  opened  the  leather  flaps  and  showed  Jack- 
son on  one,  stamped  in  gold  letters,  the  name  of 
Mary's  father. 

"Well,  what  do  you  make  of  it,  Tom?"  asked 
the  mechanician,  as  he  finished  his  examination 
of  the  wallet.  "What  does  it  mean  ?  ;The  pocket- 
book  is  empty  and  that — — " 

"Might  mean  almost  anything,"  completed 
Tom.  "But  it's  a  clew  all  right !  He's  been  here, 
and  I'm  pretty  certain  he  was  brought  here  in 
the  auto  with  the  odd  tires — the  one  Mr.  Damon 
and  I  saw  traces  of  the  night  we  heard  the  cries 
for  help." 

"But  that  doesn't  help  us  now,"  said  Jackson. 
"The  point  is  to  find  out  how  lately  Mr.  Nestor 
was  here,  and  what  has  happened  to  him  since. 
There  isn't  anything  in  the  wallet,  is  there?" 

"Nothing,"  answered  Tom,  making  a  careful 
examination  so  as  to  be  sure.  "It's  as  empty  as 
a  last  year's  bird  nest.  He's  been  robbed — that's 
what  has  happened  to  Mr.  Nestor.  He  was  way- 
laid that  night,  instead  of  being  run  down  as  I 
thought — waylaid  and  robbed  and  then  his  body 
was  brought  here." 

"There  you  go  again,  Tom !    Jumping  to  con- 


CLEWS  AT  LAST  183 

elusions!"  said  Jackson,  with  a  friendly  smile, 
and  with  the  familiarity  of  an  old  and  valued 
helper.  "Maybe  he's  in  perfectly  good  health. 
Just  because  you  found  his  empty  wallet  doesn't 
argue  that  your  friend  is  in  serious  trouble.  He 
may  have  dropped  this  on  the  road  and  some  one 
picked  it  up.  I'll  admit  they  may  have  taken 
whatever  was  in  it,  but  that  doesn't  prove  any- 
thing. The  thing  for  us  to  do  is  to  find  out  who 
knows  about  this  shack;  who  owns  it,  on  whose 
land  it  is,  and  whether  any  one  has  been  seen 
here  lately." 

"They've  been  here  lately  whether  they've  been 
seen  or  not,"  said  Tom  positively.  "There  are 
the  auto  tracks.  It  rained  two  days  ago,  and 
the  tracks  were  made  since.  Mr.  Nestor  must 
have  been  here  within  two  days." 

"He  may  or  may  not,"  said  Jackson.  "Say, 
rather,  that  some  one  was  here  and  left  his  wallet 
after  him.  Now  see  if  we  can  find  other  clews!" 

They  looked  about  in  the  fast  fading  light,  but 
at  first  could  discover  nothing  more  than  evi- 
dences that  three  or  four  persons  had  been  living 
in  the  shack  and  at  some  recent  date — probably 
Within  a  day  or  two. 

They  had  had  their  meals  there  and  had  slept 
there.  But  this  seemed  to  be  all  that  could  be 
established,  other  than  that  Mr.  Nestor's  wallet 
\vas  there,  stripped  of  its  contents. 


184         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

Tom  was  looking  through  the  closet,  from 
which  a  frightened  chipmunk  sprang  as  he  opened 
the  door.  There  were  the  remains  of  some  food, 
which  accounted  for  the  presence  of  the  little 
stripeci  animal.  And,  as  Tom  poked  about,  his 
hand  came  in  contact  with  something  wrapped  in 
paper  on  an  upper  shelf.  It  was  something  that 
clinked  metallicly. 

"What's  that?"  asked  Jackson.  "Knives,  or 
some  other  weapons?" 

"Neither,"  answered  Tom.  "It's  a  couple  of 
files,  and  they've  been  used  lately.  I  can  see 
something  in  the  grooves  yet  and " 

Suddenly  Tom  ceased  speaking  and  drew  from 
his  pocket  a  small  but  powerful  magnifying  glass. 
Through  this  he  looked  at  one  of  the  files,  taking 
it  out  in  front  of  the  shack  where  the  light  was 
better. 

"I  thought  so!"  he  cried.  "Look  here,  Jack- 
son!" 

"What  is  it?" 

"Another  clew !"  answered  Tom. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  GOVERNMENT  TEST 

FOR  a  moment  Jackson  thought  Tom  had  dis- 
covered a  clew  to,  or  evidences  of,  some  crime. 
He  had  an  unpleasant  suspicion,  for  an  instant, 
that  there  was  blood  on  the  files,  and  that  it 
might  prove  to  be  the  blood  of  Mr.  Nestor. 

But  the  satisfaction  that  showed  on  Tom's  face 
did  not  seem  to  indicate  such  dire  possibilities  as 
these. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Jackson,  unable  to  guess 
at  what  Tom  was  looking  through  the  powerful 
glass.  "What  do  you  see?" 

"Metal  filings  on  the  grooves  of  these  files," 
said  the  young  inventor.  "And,  unless  I'm  great- 
ly mistaken,  the  particles  of  filings  are  from  the 
case  of  my  aircraft  silencer !" 

"What!"  cried  the  machinist.  "Do  you  mean 
those  are  the  files  used  in  weakening  the  outer 
case  of  your  new  machine,  so  that  it  burst  a  little 
;while  ago?" 

" Jhat  what  I  think,"  answered  Tom.    "I  know 


186         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

it  sounds  pretty  far-fetched,"  he  went  OH.  "But 
take  a  look  for  yourself.  If  those  particles  on 
the  files  aren't  exactly  of  the  same  color  and  tex- 
ture as  the  material  of  which  the  silencer  case  is 
made,  I'll  never  build  another  machine." 

Jackson  peered  through  the  powerful  glassf 
moving  out  a  little  farther  from  the  shack,  so  as 
to  get  the  best  light  possible  on  the  subject  of  his 
examination.  It  was  fast  getting  dark,  but  there 
was  enough  glow  in  the  western  sky  for  his  pur- 
pose. 
"  "Am  I  right?"  asked  Tom. 

"You're  right!"  declared  his  helper.  "This 
is  exactly  the  same  metal  as  that  of  which  your 
silencer  case  is  made.  It's  a  peculiar  mixture  of 
aluminum  and  vanadium  steel.  I  never  knew  it 
used  in  any  shop  but  yours,  and  these  filings  are 
certainly  of  that  metal.  It  would  seem,  Tom, 
that  these  were  the  files  used  to  cut  a  crease  in 
the  case  of  your  silencer  to  weaken  it  so  it  would 
burst." 

"My  idea  exactly !"  cried  Tom.  "The  spy,  who 
got  into  my  shop  in  some  undiscovered  manner, 
did  his  work  and  then  fled  here  to  hide.  He  left 
his  files  behind.  Mr.  Nestor  must  have  been 
here,  either  before  or  after.  No,  I'll  not  say 
that,  either.  Finding  his  wallet  here  doesn't 
prove  that  he  was  here.  It  might  have  been 
brought  here  by  one  of  the  spies  and  dropped. 


THE  GOVERNMENT  TEST  187 

But  I'm  sure  we're  on  the  track  of  the  men  who 
damaged  my  airship,  as  well  as  those  who  know 
something  of  the  mystery  of  Mr.  Nestor." 

"I  agree  with  you,"  said  Jackson.  "Of  course 
there's  a  possibility  that  the  same  peculiar  metal 
you  used  in  your  silencer  case  may  have  been 
used  in  some  other  machine  shop,  and  these  files 
may  have  come  from  there,  and  have  been  em- 
ployed in  perfectly  regular  work.  But  the 
chances  are " 

"There's  only  one  way  to  make  sure,"  said 
^Tom.  "Let's  take  the  files  with  us  and  see  if 
they  fit  in  the  grooves  where  the  break  came. 
[We'll  take  these  back  to  where  we  left  the  Air 
Scout,"  and  he  clinked  the  files  he  held. 

"We  can  just  about  make  it  before  it  gets 
black  dark,"  returned  Jackson.  "But  that  won't 
give  us  any  more  time  to  look  around  here,"  and 
he  indicated  the  hut. 

"I  fancy  we've  seen  all  there  is  to  see  here," 
said  Tom.  "Mr.  Nestor  isn't  here,  and  whether 
he  was  or  not  is  a  question.  Anyhow,  some  one 
was  here  who  had  something  to  do  with  him  after 
his  disappearance,  I'm  positive  of  that.  And  I'm 
sure  some  one  was  here  who  damaged  my  air- 
ship. Now  we'll  run  down  both  those  clews,  find 
out  who  owns  this  place,  who  has  been  using  it, 
and  all  we  can  along  that  line.  So,  if  you're 
ready,  let;s  travel/1 


188         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

The  two  set  out  to  make  their  way  back  to 
where  they  had  left  the  stranded  airship.  It  was 
fast  becoming  dark,  but  they  could  hurry  along 
with  more  speed  now,  as  they  did  not  have  to 
stop  to  look  for  the  marks  of  the  peculiar  auto- 
mobile tires.  They  had  noticed  the  path  along 
which  they  had  traveled,  and  in  half  the  time 
they  had  spent  coming  they  were  back  where 
the  Air  Scout  rested  undisturbed  in  the  meadow 
amid  the  trees. 

Making  sure  that,  as  far  as  they  could  tell,  no 
one  had  visited  the  craft  since  they  had  left  it, 
Tom  and  Jackson  compared  the  file  marks  on 
what  was  left  of  the  broken  silencer  case  with 
the  files  they  had  found  in  the  hut.  They  used 
a  small,  but  powerful  electric  lamp  to  aid  them 
in  this  examination,  as  it  was  too  dark  to  see 
otherwise,  and  what  they  saw  caused  the  young 
inventor  to  exclaim: 

"That  settles  it!    These  were  the  files  used!" 

"That's  right!"  agreed  his  assistant  "You've 
called  the  turn,  Tom.  The  next  thing  to  do  is  to 
find  who  connects  with  the  files." 

"Yes.  To  do  that  and  find  Mr.  Nestor,"  said 
Tom.  "We  have  plenty  of  work  ahead  of  us. 
But  let's  get  nearer  civilization  and  send  some 
word  to  the  folks  at  home.  They'll  be  getting 
worried." 

"]>  doesn't  seem  as  if  there  was  a  way  out  of 


THE  GOVERNMENT  TEST  189 

here  without  using  an  airship,"  remarked  Jack- 
son. 

But  he  and  Tom  finally  reached  the  seldom- 
used  road  which  ran  along  the  field  that  contained 
the  lonely  shack,  and,  following  this,  they  reached 
a  farmhouse  about  a  mile  farther  on.  Greatly 
to  their  relief,  there  was  a  telephone  in  the  place. 
True  it  was  only  a  party  line,  set  up  by  some 
neighboring  farmers  for  their  own  private  use, 
but  one  of  the  subscribers,  to  whose  home  the 
private  line  ran,  had  a  long  distance  instrument, 
and  after  a  talk  with  him,  this  man  promised  Tom 
to  call  up  Mr.  Swift  and  acquaint  him  with  the 
fact  that  his  son  and  Jackson  were  all  right,  and 
would  be  home  later. 

"And  now,"  said  Tom,  after  thanking  their 
temporary  host,  a  farmer  named  Bloise,  "can  you 
tell  us  anything  about  an  old  cabin  that  stands 
back  there?"  and  he  indicated  the  location  of  the 
mysterious  shack. 

"Well,  yes,  I  can  tell  you  a  little  about  it,  but 
not  very  much,"  said  Mr.  Bloise.  "It  was  built, 
some  years  ago,  by  a  rich  New  Yorker,  who 
bought  up  a  lot  of  land  around  here  for  a  game 
preserve.  But  it  didn't  pan  out.  This  cabin  was 
only  the  start  of  what  he  was  going  to  call  a 
'hunting  lodge,'  I  believe  it  was.  There  was  to 
be  a  big  building  on  the  same  order,  but  it  never 
was  built. 


I9Q        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"Some  say  the  fellow  lost  all  his  money  in 
.Wall  Street,  and  others  say  the  state  wouldn't 
let  him  make  a  game  preserve  here.  However 
it  was,  the  thing  petered  out,  and  the  old  shack 
hasn't  been  used  since." 

"Oh,  yes,  it  has!"  exclaimed  Tom.  "We  just 
came  from  there,  and  there  are  signs  which  show 
some  one  has  been  sleeping  there  and  eating 
there." 

"There  has!"  exclaimed  the  farmer.  "Well, 
I  didn't  know  that." 

"I  did,"  said  his  son,  a  young  man  about  Tom's 
age.  "I  meant  to  speak  of  it  the  other  day.  I 
saw  an  automobile  turn  into  the  old  road  that  the 
men  used  when  they  built  the  shack.  I  thought 
it  was  kind  of  queer  to  see  a  touring  car  turn 
in  there,  and  I  meant  to  speak  of  it,  but  I  for- 
got. Yes,  some  one  has  been  at  the  old  cabin 
lately." 

"Do  you  know  who  they  are?"  asked  Torn 
eagerly.  "We  are  looking  for  a  Mr.  Nestor,  who 
disappeared  mysteriously  about  two  weeks  ago, 
and  I  just  found  his  wallet  there  in  the  shack!"' 

"You  did!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Bloise.  "That's 
queer!  You  relatives  of  this  Mr.  Nestor;?/'  he 
asked. 

"Not  exactly,"  Tom  answered.  "Just  yery 
close  friends." 

"Well,  it's  too  bad  about  his  Being  missing  in 


THE  GOVERNMENT  TEST  191 

that  way,"  went  on  the  farmer.  "I  read  about  it 
in  the  paper,  but  I  never  suspected  he  was  around 
here." 

"Oh,  we're  not  sure  that  he  was,"  said  Tom 
quickly.  "Finding  his  wallet  doesn't  prove  that," 
and  he  told  the  story  of  his  own  and  Jackson's 
appearance  on  the  scene,  to  the  no  small  wonder 
of  the  farmer  and  his  family.  Tom  said  nothing 
about  the  finding  of  the  files,  nor  the  evidence 
he  deduced  from  them.  That  was  another  mat- 
ter to  be  taken  up  later. 

"Who  were  in  the  auto  you  saw?"  asked  Tom 
of  the  farmer's  son.  "Was  Mr.  Nestor  in  the 
car?" 

"I  couldn't  be  sure  of  that,  There  were  two 
men  in  the  machine,  and  they  were  both  strangers 
to  me.  They  were  talking  together,  pretty  earn- 
estly, it  seemed  to  me." 

"One  did  not  appear  as  if  he  was  being  taken 
away  against  his  will,  did  he?"  asked  Tom. 

"No,  I  can't  say  that  he  did,"  was  the  answer. 
"They  looked  to  me,  and  acted  like,  business  men 
looking  over  land,  or  something  like  that.  They 
just  turned  in  on  the  road  that  leads  to  the  old 
hunting  cabin,  as  we  call  it  around  here,  and 
didn't  pay  any  attention  to  me.  Then  I  forgot 
all  about  them." 

"Neither  of  them  could  have  been  Mr.  Nestor," 
decided  Tom.  "At  least  it  doesn't  seem  as  if  he'd 


192         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

talk  at  all  companionably  to  a  man  who  had  treated 
him  as  we  think  Mr.  Nestor  has  been  treated. 
I  guess  that  clew  isn't  going  to  amount  to  much  " 

"It  may!"  insisted  Jackson.  "They  may  have 
had  Mr.  Nestor  in  the  car  all  the  while — concealed 
in  the  back  you  know.  We've  got  to  find  out 
more  about  these  men  and  their  auto,  Tom." 

"Well,  yes,  perhaps  we  have.    But  how  ?" 

"Station  some  one  at  the  shack,  or  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  private  road.  The  men  may  corns 
back/' 

"That's  so— they  may.  We'll  do  that!"  cried 
the  young  inventor.  "We  must  tell  the  police 
and  Mr.  Nestor's  folks  what  we  have  learned. 
How  can  we  get  back  to  Shopton  in  a  hurry  I" 
he  asked  the  fanner. 

"Well,  I  can  drive  you  to  the  railroad  station," 
was  the  answer. 

"Thank  you,"  remarked  Tom.  "We'll  accept 
your  offer.  And  as  soon  as  we  get  back  we  must 
send  some  one  from  the  shop  to  stand  guard  over 
the  airship,"  he  added  in  an  aside  to  Jackson. 
"Those  file  fellows  may  come  back." 

"That's  so,  we  can't  take  any  chances." 

The  farmer  soon  had  his  team  at  the  door,  and, 
after  they  had  had  a  hasty  but  satisfying  supper 
at  the  farmhouse,  the  son  drove  Tom  and  Jack- 
son several  miles  to  a  railroad  station,  where 
they  could  catch  a  train  for  Shopton. 


THE  GOVERNMENT  TEST  193 

In  due  season  Tom's  home  was  reached.  He 
intended  to  stop  but  a  minute,  to  assure  his  father 
tliat  everything  was  all  right,  and  then  get  out 
his  speedy  runabout  to  go  to  see  Mary,  to  tell 
her  the  news. 

But  when  Tom  sought  his  father  in  the  li- 
brary, he  was  told  that  there  was  a  visitor  in  the 
house. 

"Tom,"  said  his  father,  "this  gentleman  is 
from  Washington.  He  wants  to  arrange  for  a 
government  test  of  your  silent  airship.  I  told 
him  I  thought  you  were  about  ready  for  it." 

"A  government  test!"  cried  Tom.  "Why,  I 
drdn't  think  the  government  even  knew  I  was 
working  on  such  an  idea!"  Tom  was  greatly 
surprised. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

IN  THE  MOONLIGHT 

WITH  a  reassuring  smile  the  visitor  from 
^Washington  looked  at  Tom  Swift. 

"The  government  officials/'  he  said,  "know 
more  than  some  people  give  them  credit  for — 
espefcially  in  these  war  times.  Our  intelligence 
bureau  and  secret  service  has  been  much  enlarged 
of  late.  But  don't  be  alarmed,  Mr.  Swift,"  went 
on  the  caller,  whose  name  was  Mr.  Blair  Terrifl. 
"Your  secret  is  safe  with  the  government,  but 
I  think  the  time  is  ripe  to  use  it  now — that  is,  if 
you  have  perfected  it  to  a  point  where  we  can 
use  it." 

"Yes,"  answered  Tom  slowly,  "the  invention 
is  practically  finished  and  it  is  a  success,  except 
for  a  few  minor  matters  that  will  not  take  long 
to  complete. 

"Our  accident  this  afternoon  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  efficiency  of  the  silencer,"  Tom 
went  on.  "It  was  deliberately  damaged  by  some 
spy.  I'll  take  that  up  later.  But  I  am  interested 

194 


IN  THE  MOONLIGHT  195 

to  know  how  you  heard  of  my  Air  Scout,  as  I 
call  it." 

"Well,  we  have  agents,  you  know,  watching 
all  the  inventors  who  have  helped  us  in  time? 
past,  and  we  haven't  forgotten  your  giant  cannon 
or  big  searchlight.  I  might  say,  to  end  your  curi- 
osity and  lull  your  suspicions,  that  your  friend, 
Ned  Newton,  who  has  been  doing  such  good 
Liberty  Bond  work,  informed  us  of  your  prog- 
ress on  the  silent  motor." 

"Oh,  so  it  was  Ned!"  exclaimed  Tom. 

"Yes.  He  told  us  the  time  was  about  ripe 
lor  us  to  make  you  an  offer  for  your  machine. 
I  think  we  can  use  it  to  great  advantage  in  scout 
work  on  the  western  front,"  went  on  the  agent, 
and  he  soon  convinced  Tom  that  when  it  came  to 
a  knowledge  of  airships,  he  had  some  very  perti- 
nent facts  at  his  disposal. 

"When  can  you  give  me  a  test?"  Mr.  Terrill 
asked  Tom. 

"As  soon  as  I  can  get  my  craft  back  to  the  shop 
and  fit  on  a  new  outer  case.  That  won't  take 
long,  as  I  have  some  spare  ones.  But  I  must 
help  the  Nestors,"  he  went  on,  speaking  to  his 
father.  "I  didn't  mention  it  over  the  wire,"  he 
added,  "but  we  found  in  the  cabin  a  clew  to  the 
missing  man.  I  must  tell  Mary  and  her  mother, 
and  help  them  all  I  can." 

"And  allow  me  to  help,  too,"  begged  Mr.  Jer- 


196         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

rill.  "Since  this  affects  you,  Mr.  Swift,  and  since 
you  are,  in  a  way,  working  for  Uncle  Sam,  you 
must  let  him  help  you.  This  is  the  first  I  have 
heard  of  the  missing  gentleman,  of  whom  your 
father  just  told  me  something,  but  you  must  al- 
low me  to  help  search  for  him.  I  will  get  the 
United  States  Secret  Service  at  work." 

'That  will  be  fine!"  cried  Tom.  "I  wanted 
to  get  their  aid,  but  I  didn't  see  how  I  could,  as 
I  knew  they  were  too  busy  with  army  matters 
and  tracing  seditious  alien  enemies,  to  bother 
with  private  cases.  I'm  sure  the  Secret  Service 
men  can  get  trace  of  the  persons  responsible  for 
the  detention  of  Mr.  Nestor,  wherever  he  is." 

"They'll  do  their  best,"  said  Mr.  Terrill.  "I'm 
a  member  of  that  body,"  he  went  on,  "and  I'll 
give  my  personal  attention  to  the  matter." 

Then  followed  a  busy  time.  Tom  did  not  get 
to  bed  until  nearly  morning.  For  he  had  to  ar- 
range to  send  some  of  his  men  to  guard  the 
stranded  airship,  and  then  he  went  to  see  Mary 
and  her  mother,  taking  them  the  good  news  that 
the  search  for  Mr.  Nestor  would  be  prosecuted 
with  unprecedented  vigor. 

"If  it  isn't  too  late!"  sadly  said  the  missing 
man's  wife. 

"Oh,  I'm  sure  it  isn't!"  declared  Tom. 

In  addition  to  sending  a  guard  to  the  airship, 
other  men,  some  of  them  hastily  summoned  from 


IN  THE  MOONLIGHT  197 

the  nearest  federal  agency,  were  sent  to  keep  watch 
in  thei  vicinicty  of  the  lonely  cabin.  They  had 
orders  to  arrest  whoever  approached,  and  a  relay 
of  the  men  was  provided,  so  that  watch  could  be 
kept  up  night  and  day.  Besides  this,  other  men 
from  the  Secret  Service  began  scouring  the  coun- 
try around  the  locality  of  the  cabin,  seeking  a 
trace  of  the  two  persons  the  farmer's  son  had  seen 
in  the  automobile. 

"If  Mr.  Nestor  is  to  be  found,  they'll  find 
him!"  declared  Tom  Swift. 

Mr.  Damon,  as  might  be  expected,  was  very 
much  excited  and  wrought  up  over  all  these  hap- 
penings. 

"Bless  my  watch  chain,  Tom  Swift!"  cried  the 
eccentric  man,  "but  something  is  always  happen- 
ing to  you.  And  to  think  I  wasn't  along  when 
this  latest  happened !" 

"Well,  you  can  be  in  at  the  finish/'  promised 
Tom,  and  it  was  strange  how  his  promise  was 
fulfilled. 

Meanwhile  there  was  much  to  do.  During  the 
time  the  Secret  Service  men  were  busy  looking 
up  clews  which  might  lead  to  the  finding  of  Mr. 
Nestor  and  keeping  watch  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
hut,  Tom  had  his  airship  brought  back  to  the 
hangar,  and  a  new  silencer  was  attached.  While 
this  work  was  going  on  the  place  was  guarded 
toight  and  day  by  responsible  men,  so  there  was 


TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 


iio  chance  for  an  enemy  spy  to  get  in  and  do 
further  damage. 

An  investigation  was  made  of  the  Universal 
Flying  Machine  Company,  but  nothing  could  be 
proved  to  link  them  with  the  outrage.  Gale  and 
tWare  were  in  Europe—  ostensibly  on  government 
Business,  but  it  was  said  that  if  anything  could 
be  proved  connecting  them  with  the  attempt 
made  on  Tom  Swift's  craft,  they  would  be  de- 
prived of  all  official  contracts  and  punished. 

All  this  took  time,  and  the  waits  were  weari- 
some, particularly  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Nestor.  No 
further  trace  of  him  was  found,  though  every 
effort  was  made.  Tom  began  to  feel  that  his 
boast  of  his  enemies  having  to  get  up  early  in  the 
morning  to  get  ahead  o£  him,  had  been  prema- 
ture, to  say  the  least. 

[Tom  Swift  worked  hard  on  his  new  Air 
Scout.  He  determined  there  would  be  nothing 
lacking  when  it  came  to  the  government  test,  and 
not  only  did  he  make  sure  that  no  enemy  could 
tamper  with  his  machine,  but  he  took  pains  to 
see  that  no  inherent  defect  would  mar  the  test. 

Jackson  and  the  other  men  helped  to  the  best 
of  their  ability,  and  Mr.  Swift  suggested  some 
improvements  which  were  incorporated  in  the 
new  machine. 

One  of  the  puzzles  the  Secret  Service  men  had 
jto  solve  was  that  of  the  connection,  if  any,  be- 


IN  THE  MOONLIGHT  199 

fween  the  men  who  had  to  do  with  the  missing 
Mr.  Nestor  and  those  who  had  damaged  Tom's 
airship  by  filing  the  muffler  case  so  it  was  weak- 
tned  and  burst.  That  there  was  some  connection 
jTom  was  certain,  but  he  could  not  work  it  out, 
nor,  so  far,  had  the  government  men. 

At  last  the  day  came  when  the  big  government 
test  was  to  be  made.  Tom  had  completed  his 
Air  Scout  and  had  refined  it  to  a  point  where 
even  his  critical  judgment  was  satisfied.  All  that 
remained  now  was  to  give  Mr.  Terrill  a  chance 
to  see  how  silently  the  big  craft  could  fly,  and 
to  this  end  a  flight  was  arranged. 

Tom  had  put  the  silencer  on  a  larger  machine 
than  the  one  he  and  Jackson  had  used.  It  held 
three  easily,  and,  on  a  pinch,  four  could  be  car- 
ried. Tom's  plan  was  to  take  Mr.  Damon  and 
Mr.  Terrill,  fly  with  them  for  some  time  in  the 
air,  and  demonstrate  how  quiet  his  new  craft  was. 
Then,  by  contrast,  a  machine  without  the  muffler 
and  the  new  motor  with  its  improved  propellers 
would  be  flown,  making  as  much  noise  as  the 
usual  craft  did. 

"I  only  wish,"  said  Tom,  as  the  time  arrived 
for  the  official  government  test,  "that  Mary 
could  be  here  to  see  it.  She  was  the  one  who 
really  started  me  on  this  idea,  so  to  speak,  as  it 
was  because  I  couldn't  talk  to  her  that  I  decided 
to  get  up  a  silent  motor." 


200         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

But  Mary  Nestor  was  too  grief-stricken  over 
her  missing  father  to  come  to  the  test,  which  was 
'to  take  place  late  one  afternoon,  starting  from 
the  aerodrome  of  the  Swift  plant. 

"First,"  said  Tom,  to  Mr.  Terrill,  'Til  show 
you  how  the  machine  works  on  the  ground.  I'll 
run  the  motor  while  the  plane  is  held  down  by 
means  of  ropes  and  blocks.  Then  we'll  go  up 
in  it." 

"That  suits  me,"  said  the  agent.  "If  it  does 
all  you  say  it  will  do,  and  as  much  as  I  believe 
it  will  do,  Uncle  Sam  will  be  your  debtor,  Mr. 
Swift." 

"Well,  we'll  see,"  said  Tom  with  a  smile. 

Preparations  were  made  with  the  greatest  care, 
and  Tom  went  over  every  detail  of  the  machine 
twice  to  make  certain  that,  in  spite  of  the  pre- 
cautions, no  spy  had  done  any  hidden  damage, 
that  might  be  manifested  at  an  inopportune  mo- 
ment. But  everything  seemed  all  right,  and, 
finally,  the  motor  was  started,  while  Mr.  Terrill, 
and  some  of  his  colleagues  from  the  Army  Avia- 
tion department  looked  on. 

"Contact!"  cried  Tom,  as  Jackson  indicated 
that  the  compression  had  been  made. 

The  mechanic  nodded,  gave  the  big  propeller 
blades  a  quarter  turn  and  jumped  back.  In  an 
instant  the  motor  was  operating,  and  the  craft 
would  have  leaped  forward  and  cleaved  the  air 


IN  THE  MOONLIGHT  2OI 

but  for  the  holding  ropes  and  blocks.  Tom 
speeded  the  machinery  up  to  almost  the  last 
notch,  but  those  in  the  aerodrome  hardly  heard 
a  sound.  It  was  as  though  some  great,  silent 
dynamo  were  working. 

"Fine!" 

"Wonderful!" 

"Wouldn't  have  believed  it  possible!" 

These  were  some  of  the  comments  of  the  gov- 
ernment inspectors. 

"And  now  for  the  final  test — that  in  the  air," 
said  Mr.  Terrill. 

Previous  to  this  he  and  his  colleagues  had 
made  a  minute  examination  of  the  machinery, 
and  had  been  shown  the  interior  construction  of 
the  silencer  by  means  of  one  built  so  that  a  sec- 
tional view  could  be  had.  Tom's  principles  were 
pronounced  fundamental  and  simple. 

"So  simple,  in  fact,  that  it  is  a  wonder  no  one 
thought  of  it  before,"  said  a  navy  aviation  ex- 
pert. "It  is  the  last  word  in  aircraft  construc- 
tion— a  silent  motor  that  will  not  apprise  the 
enemy  of  its  approach !  You  have  done  wonders, 
Mr.  Swift!" 

"I'd  rather  hear  you  say  that  after  the  air 
test,"  replied  Tom,  with  a  laugh.  "Are  you 
ready,  Mr.  Terrill?" 

"Whenever  you  are." 

"How  about  you,  Mr.  Damon?" 


202         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

"Oh,  I'm  always  ready  to  go  with  you,  Tom 
Swift.  Bless  my  trench  helmet,  but  you  can't 
sail  any  too  soon  for  me!" 

There  was  a  genial  laugh  at  his  impetuosity, 
and  the  three  took  their  seats  in  the  big  craft. 
Once  more  the  engine  was  started.  It  operated 
as  silently  as  before,  and  the  firajt  good  impres- 
sions were  confirmed.  Even  as  the  machine 
moved  along  the  ground,  just  previous  to  taking 
flight  into  the  air,  there  was  no  noise,  save  the 
slight  crunch  made  by  the  wheels.  This,  of 
course,  would  be  obviated  when  Silent  Sam  was 
aloft. 

Up  and  up  soared  the  great  craft,  with  Tom  at 
the  engine  and  guide  controls,  while  Mr.  Terrill 
and  Mr.  Damon  sat  behind  him,  both  eagerly 
watching.  Mr.  Terrill  was  there  to  find  fault  if 
he  could,  but  he  was  glad  he  did  not  have  to. 

"The  machine  works  perfectly,  Mr.  Swift,"  he 
said.  "My  report  cannot  be  otherwise  than  fav- 
orable." 

"We  mustn't  be  in  too  much  of  a  hurry,"  said 
[Tom,  who  had  learned  caution  some  time  ago.  "I 
want  to  sail  around  for  several  hours.  Sometimes 
a  machine  will  work  well  at  first,  but  defects  will 
develop  when  it  is  overheated.  I'm  going  to  do 
my  best  to  make  a  noise  with  this  new  motor." 

But  it  seemed  impossible.  The  machinery 
worked  perfectly,  and  though  Silent  Sam  took 


W  THE  MOONLIGHT  -203 

his  passengers  high  and  low,  in  big  circles  and 
small  ones,  there  was  no  appreciable  noise  from 
the  motor.  The  passengers  could  converse  as 
easily,  and  with  as  little  effort,  as  in  a  balloon, 

"Of  course  that  isn't  the  prime  requisite,"  said 
Mr.  Terrill,  "but  it  is  a  good  one.  What  we 
want  is  a  machine  that  can  sail  over  the  enemy's 
lines  at  night  without  being  heard,  and  I  think  this 
one  will  do  it — in  fact,  I'm  sure  it  will.  Of  course 
the  ability  of  the  passengers  to  converse  and  not 
have  to  use  the  uncertain  tube  is  a  great  advan- 
tage." 

As  Tom  Swift  sailed  on  and  on,  it  became  evi- 
dent that  the  test  was  going  to  be  a  success.  THe 
afternoon  passed,  and  it  began  to  grow  dark,  but 
a  glorious  full  moon  came  up. 

"Shall  I  take  you  down?"  the  young  inventor 
asked  Mr.  Terrill. 

"Not  quite  yet.  I  thoroughly  enjoy  this,  and 
it  isn't  often  I  get  a  chance  for  a  moonlight  air- 
ship ride.  Go  a  little  lower,  if  you  please,  and 
we'll  see  if  we  attract  any  attention  from  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth.  We'll  see  if  they  can  pos- 
sibly hear  the  machine,  though  I  don't  see  how; 
they  can." 

And  they  did  not.  Tom  piloted  the  machine 
over  Shopton,  sailing  directly  over  the  center  of 
the  town,  where  there  was  a  big  crowd  walking 
about.  Though  the  airship  sailed  only  a  few; 


204         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

hundred  feet  above  their  heads,  not  a  person  was 
aware  of  it,  since  the  craft's  lights  were  put  out 
for  this  test. 

"That  settles  it,"  said  Mr.  Terrill.  "You  have 
succeeded,  Tom  Swift!" 

But  Tom  was  not  yet  satisfied.  He  wanted  a 
longer  test.  Hardly  knowing  why  he  did  it  he 
sent  the  craft  in  the  direction  of  Mary  Nestor's 
home.  As  he  sailed  across  her  lawn  he  saw,  in 
the  moonlight,  that  she  and  her  mother  were  walk- 
ing in  the  garden.  They  did  not  look  up  as  the 
aircraft  passed  over  their  heads,  and  were  totally 
unaware  of  its  presence,  unless  they  caught  a 
glimpse  of  it  as  it  flitted  silently  along,  like  some 
great  bird  of  the  night. 

"It  is  perfectly  wonderful !"  declared  Mr.  Ter- 
rill, and  he  spoke  in  ordinary  tones,  that  carried 
perfectly  to  the  ears  of  Tom  and  Mr.  Damon. 

"Wonderful !"  cried  the  eccentric  man.  "Bless 
my  chimney,  but  it's  the  greatest  invention  in  the 
world !  Yes,  it  is !  Don't  tell  me  it  isn't !" 

And  no  one  did. 

Passing  the  Nestor  home,  the  saddened  occu- 
pants of  which  were  unaware  of  the  passage,  Tom 
sent  the  Air  Scout  about  in  a  circle,  intending  to 
proceed  to  the  hangar.  And  then,  some  whim, 
perhaps,  caused  him  to  guide  Silent  Sam  out  to- 
ward the  lonely  hut.  Mr.  Damon  and  Mr.  Ter- 
rill seemed  perfectly  content  to  sail  on  and  on 


IN  THE  MOONLIGHT  205 

indefinitely  in  the  moonlight.  Tom  thought  he 
would  take  them  over  a  lonely  neighborhood,  and 
then  bring  them  back. 

In  a  little  while  the  craft  was  directly  over  the 
stretch  of  country  where  the  aeroplane  accident 
had  occurred,  and  where  Tom  and  Jackson  had 
found  the  deserted  hut. 

Rather  idly  Tom  looked  down,  wondering  if  the 
Secret  Service  men  were  on  the  watch  and  if  they 
had  discovered  anything. 

Suddenly  Tom  was  aware  of  an  automobile 
moving  along  the  field  path  toward  the  cabin. 
There  were  two  men  in  the  car,  both  on  the 
front  seat,  and  as  Tom  looked  down  the  brilliant 
moonlight  showed  him  the  figure  of  another  man, 
bound,  and  huddled  in  the  tonneau  of  the  car. 
The  aeroplane  was  low  enough  for  all  these  de- 
tails to  be  seen  by  the  moon's  gleam,  but  the  men 
in  the  car,  not  hearing  any  noise,  did  not  look  up, 
so  they  were  unconscious  of  this  aerial  espionage. 

"Look!  Look!"  exclaimed  Tom  in  a  low  voice 
to  his  companions.  "Doesn't  that  seem  suspi- 
cious?" 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE   GOLD   TOOTH 

EAGERLY  Mr.  Damon  and  the  government  agent 
leaned  over  and  looked  down.  In  the  moonlight 
they  saw  the  same  sight  that  had  attracted  Tom 
Swift.  The  touring  car,  the  two  men  in  front, 
and  the  huddled,  bound  figure  in  the  back. 

"Can  you  go  down,  Tom,  without  letting  them 
hear  you  ?"  asked  Mr.  Damon,  using  a  low  voice, 
as  if  fearful  the  men  in  the  automobile  would 
hear  him. 

"I  guess  so,"  answered  the  young  inventor.  "I 
can  land  nearer  to  the  cabin  than  Jackson  and  I 
did,  and  tfcen  we  can  see  what  these  fellows  are  up 
to.  It  looks  suspicious  to  me.  That  is,  unless 
they're  some  of  the  Secret  Service  men,  and  have 
made  a  capture,"  he  added  to  Mr.  Terrill. 

"Those  aren't  any  of  Uncle  Sam's  men,"  de- 
clared the  agent.  "That  is,  unless  the  bound  one 
is.  I  can't  see  him  very  well.  Better  go  down,, 
and  we'll  see  if  we  can  surprise  them." 

"My  plan,"  voiced  Tom. 
206 


THE  GOLD  TOOTH  207 

Quickly  he  shifted  the  rudder,  and  then,  shut- 
ting off  the  motor,  as  he  wanted  to  volplane  down, 
he  headed  his  craft  for  an  open  spot  that  showed 
in  the  bright  moonlight.  By  this  time  the  auto- 
mobile and  its  occupants  were  out  of  sight  behind 
a  clump  of  trees,  but  Tom  and  his  companions  felt 
sure  of  the  destination  of  the  men— the  deserted 
cabin  in  the  wood. 

As  silently  as  a  wisp  of  grass  falling,  the  big 
craft  came  down  on  a  level  spot,  and  then,  leap- 
ing out,  the  young  inventor  and  his  two  compan- 
ions crept  along  the  path  toward  the  cabin.  Mr. 
Terrill  was  armed,  Tom  carried  a  flashlight,  while 
Mr.  Damon  picked  up  a  heavy  club. 

As  soon  as  he  came  near  a  place  where  he 
thought  the  marks  of  the  automobile  wheels  would 
show,  Tom  flashed  his  light. 
*  "I  thought  so!"  he  exclaimed,  as  he  saw  the 
square,  nobby  tread  marks  left  by  the  tires.  "It's 
the  same  gang,  or  some  of  them  in  the  same  car. 
If  we  can  only  capture  them!" 

"The  Secret  Service  men  ought  to  do  that,"  re- 
turned Mr.  Terrill,  but,  as  it  developed  later,  they 
were  not  on  hand,  though  through  no  fault  of 
theirs. 

On  and  on  crept  Tom  and  the  two  men,  until 
they  caine  within  sight  of  the  cabin.  They  saw  a 
light  gleaming  in  it,  and  Tom  whispered: 

"Now   we   have   them!    Work   our   way   up 


208        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

quietly  and  make  them  surrender,  if  we  find 
they're  what  we  think. " 

"Is  there  a  rear  door?"  asked  Mr.  Terrill  in  a 
whisper. 

Tom  answered  in  the  negative,  and  then  all 
three,  in  fan  shape,  crept  up  to  the  front  portal. 
It  was  open,  and  silently  reaching  a  place  where 
they  could  make  an  observation,  Tom  and  his 
companions  looked  in. 

What  they  saw  filled  them  with  wild  and  right- 
eous rage,  and  brought  to  an  end  the  mystery  of 
the  disappearance  of  Mr.  Nestor.  For  there  he 
sat,  bound  in  a  chair,  and  at  a  table  in  front  of 
hfin  were  two  forbidding-looking  men. 

"What  do  you  intend  to  do  now?"  asked  Mr. 
Nestor  in  a  faint  voice.  "I  cannot  stand  this 
captivity  much  longer.  You  admit  that  you  don't 
want  me — that  you  never  wanted  me — so  why  do 
you  keep  me  a  prisoner?  It  cannot  do  the  least 
good." 

"There's  no  use  going  over  that  again!"  ex- 
claimed the  harsh  voice  of  one  of  the  men.  "I've 
told  you  that  if  you  will  promise  to  keep  still  about 
what  happened  to  you,  and  not  to  give  the  police 
any  information  about  us,  we'll  let  you  go  gladly. 
We  don't  want  you.  It  was  all  a  mistake,  cap- 
turing you.  You  were  the  wrong  man.  But 
we're  not  going  to  let  you  go  and  have  you  set 
the  police  on  us  as  soon  as  you  get  a  chance.  Give 


THE  GOLD  TOOTH  209 

us  your  promise  to  say  nothing,  and  well  let  you 
join  your  friends.    If  you  don't " 

"Make  no  promises,  Mr.  Nestor!"  cried  Tom 
Swift  in  a  ringing  voice,  as  he  leaped  from  his 
hiding  place,  followed  by  his  companions.  "Your 
friends  are  here,  and  you  can  tell  them  every- 
thing!" 

"Up  with  'em!"  called  Mr.  Terrill  to  the  two 
conspirators  as  he  confronted  them  with  his  auto- 
matic pistol  ready  for  firing.  He  had  no  need  to 
mention  hands — they  knew  what  he  meant  and 
took  the  characteristic  attitude. 
t  "Tom!  Tom  Swift!"  cried  Mr.  Nestor,  strug- 
gling ineffectually  at  his  bonds.  "Is  it  really 
you?" 

"Well,  I  hope  it  isn't  any  imitation,"  was  the 
grim  answer.  "We'll  tell  you  all  about  it  later. 
Jove,  but  I'm  glad  we  found  you!  If  it  hadn't 
been  for  Silent  Sam  we  might  never  have  been 
able  to." 

"Well,  I  don't  know  who  Silent  Sam  is,"  said 
Mr.  Nestor  faintly.  "But  I'm  sure  I'm  much 
obliged  to  him  and  your  other  friends.  It  has  been 
very  hard.  Tell  me,  are  my  wife  and  Mary  all 
right?" 

"In  good  health,  yes,  but,  of  course,  worry- 
ing," said  Tom.  "We  saw  them  in  the  garden  a 
little  while  ago.  Now  don't  talk  until  I  set  you 
free." 


210        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

j  _.. 

And  as  Tom  cut  the  ropes  from  Mr.  Nestor, 
Mr.  Damon  used  them  to  bind  the  two  conspira- 
tors, while  Mr.  Terrill  stood  guard  over  them. 
And  when  they  were  safely  bound,  and  Mr.  Nes- 
tor had  somewhat  recovered  from  the  shock,  Tom 
had  a  chance  to  examine  the  prisoners. 

"What  does  it  all  mean?  Who  are  you  fel- 
lows, anyhow,  and  what's  your  game?"  he  de- 
manded. 

"Guess  it—since  you're  so  smart!"  snapped 
one.  ^ 

j  And  no  sooner  had  he  opened  his  mouth  and 
Tom  had  a  glance  of  something  gleaming  Jmghtly 
yellow,  than  the  young  inventor  cried:  3 

"The  gold  tooth!    So  it's  you  again,  is  it,  you 


man  shrugged  his  shoulders  with  an  as-r 
sumption  of  indifference.  And,  as  Tom  took  a 
closer  look,  he  became  aware  that  the  man  was 
surely  none  other  than  Lydane,  the  spy  he  had 
chased  into  the  mud  puddle  some  weeks  before.1 
His  companion  was  a  stranger  to  Tom. 

"What  does  it  all  mean,  Mr.  Nestor?"  asked 
Tom.  "Have  these  men  held  you  a  prisoner  ever 
since  you  called  for  help  on  the  moor  that  night?" 

"Yes,  Tom,  they  have.  And  I  did  call  for  help 
after  they  attacked  me  as  I  was  riding  my  wheel, 
but  I  didn't  know  any  one  heard  me.  I  began 
to  be  afraid  no  one  would  ever  help  me." 


[THE  GOLD  TOOTH  211 

I"  "We've  been  trying  to,  a  long  time,"  said  Mr. 
Damon,  "but  we  couldn't  find  you.  Where  did 
they  keep  you?" 

Here,  part  of  the  time,  was  Mr.  Nestor's 
answer.  "And  in  other  lonely  houses.  They 
bound  and  gagged^  me  when  they  took  me  from 
place  to  place." 

"But  what  was  their  object?-'  asked  Tom,  con- 
cluding it  was  useless  to  question  the  two  captives. 
"Why  did  they  make  you  a  prisoner,  Mr.  Nes- 
tor?" 

"Because  they  took  me  for  you,  Tom." 

"For  we.?" 

"Yes.  The  night  I  called  at  your  house,  and 
found  you  were  not  at  home,  I  put  back  in  my 
pocket  a  bundle  of  papers  I  had  brought  over  to 
show  you.  They  were  plans  of  a  little  kitchen  ap- 
pliance a  friend  of  mine  had  invented,  and  I 
wanted  to  ask  your  opinion  of  it. 

"These  scoundrels  must  have  followed  me,  or 
have  seen  the  bundle  of  papers,  and,  mistaking 
me  for  you,  they  followed,  attacked  me  in  a  lonely 
spot  and,  bundling  me  and  my  wrecked  wheel  into 
an  auto,  carried  me  off.  They  first  demanded 
that  I  give  up  the  'plans,'  and  when  I  wouldn't 
they  choked  off  my  cries  for  help  and  knocked  me 
into  unconsciousness.  Then  they  brought  me  here,] 
and  kept  me  here  for  several  days. 
,t -v  "They  soon  learned  that  the  plans  I  had  weren^j 


212        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

those  they  wanted,  though  what  they  were  then 
after  I  couldn't  imagine.  Only,  from  what  I  later 
overheard,  I  knew  they  mistook  me  for  you  and 
that  they  were  bitterly  disappointed  in  not  getting 
plans  of  some  new  airship  you  were  working  on. 
They  have  kept  me  a  prisoner  ever  since,  and 
though  they  offered  to  let  me  go  if  I  would  keep 
silent,  I  refused.  I  did  not  think,  to  secure  my 
own  comfort,  I  should  let  such  men  go  unpun- 
ished if  I  could  bring  about  their  arrest." 

"I  should  say  not!"  cried  Tom. 

"Did  they  treat  you  brutally,  Mr.  Nestor?" 
asked  Mr.  Damon. 

"Not  after  they  found  out  who  I  was,  by  look* 
ing  through  my  wallet.  Of  course  they  didn't  be- 
have very  decently,  but  they  weren't  actually 
cruel,  except  that  they  bound  and  gagged  me. 
Oh,  but  I'm  glad  you  came,  Tom!  How  did  it 
happen?" 

Then  they  told  Mr.  Nestor  their  story,  and 
how  the  test  of  the  new  Air  Scout  had  led  to  his 
rescue. 

"But  where  are  the  Secret  Service  men?"  asked 
Mr.  Terrill,  when  it  became  evident  that  none  of 
them  was  on  guard  at  the  cabin. 

Later  it  developed  that,  by  following  a  false 
clew,  the  Secret  Service  men  had  been  drawn  miles 
away  from  the  cabin.  And  only  that  Tom  and 
his  companions  in  the  silent  airship  saw  the  men, 


THE  GOLD  TOOTH  213 

Mr.  Nestor  might  not  have  been  rescued  for  some 
further  time. 

His  version  of  what  had  happened  was  correct. 
He  had  been  mistaken  for  Tom,  and  the  spy  with 
the  gold  tooth  and  his  accomplice  had  waylaid 
Mary's  father,  under  the  belief  that  it  was  Tom 
Swift  with  the  plans  of  the  new  silent  motor.  Mr. 
Nestor  had  been  attacked  while  riding  his  wheel 
in  a  lonely  place,  and  had  been  carried  off  and 
kept  in  hiding,  a  prisoner  even  after  his  identity 
became  known. 

"Well,  this  is  a  good  night's  work!"  exclaimed 
Tom,  when  the  two  rogues  had  been  sent  to  jail 
and  Mr.  Nestor  taken  to  the  Bloise  farmhouse, 
to  be  refreshed  before  he  went  home.  Word  of 
his  rescue  was  telephoned  to  Mary  and  her 
mother,  and  it  can  be  imagined  how  they  regarded 
Tom  Swift  for  his  part  in  the  affair. 

Little  the  worse  for  his  experience,  save  that 
he  was  very  nervous,  Mr.  Nestor  was  taken  home. 
He  gave  the  details  of  his  being  waylaid,  and  told 
how  the  men,  for  many  days,  were  at  their  wits' 
ends  to  keep  him  concealed  when  they  found  what 
a  stir  his  disappearance  had  created.  The  con- 
spirators were  well  supplied  with  money,  and  in 
the  automobile  they  took  their  prisoner  from  one 
place  to  another.  They  had  usurped  the  use  of  the 
cabin  and  had  lived  there  nearly  a  week  in  hiding, 
leaving  just  before  the  first  visit  of  Tom  and  Jack- 


214         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

son.  The  rifled  wallet  had  been  dropped  by  acci* 
dent. 

And  it  did  not  take  much  delving  to  disclose 
the  fact  that,  Lydane,  "Gold  Tooth,"  as  he  was 
called,  and  his  crony,  were  spies  in  the  pay  ot( 
the  Universal  Flying  Machine  Company.  As  the, 
men  went  under  several  aliases  there  is  no  nee<| 
of  giving  their  names.  It  is  to  be  doubted  if  the^ 
ever  used  their  real  ones — or  if  they  had  any. 

Of  course,  there  was  quite  a  sensation  when 
Mr.  Nestor  was  found,  and  a  greater  one  when  it 
became  known  the  part  the  Universal  Flying  Ma- 
chine people  had  in  his  disappearance  in  mistake 
for  Tom.  The  officials  of  the  company  were  in- 
dicted, and  several  of  the  minor  ones  sent  to  jail, 
but  Gale  and  Ware  escaped  by  remaining  abroad. 

It  came  out  that  they  both  knew  of  the  acts  of 
Lydane  and  his  companion  in  crime,  and  that  the 
two  officials  realized  the  mistake  that  had  been 
made  by  their  clumsy  operatives.  It  was  believed 
that  this  knowledge  led  to  the  visit  of  Gale  to 
Tom,  the  time  the  latter's  suspicions  were  first 
aroused.  Gale  made  a  clumsy  attempt  to  clear  his 
own  skirts  of  the  conspiracy,  but  in  vain,  though 
he  did  escape  his  just  punishment. 

What  had  happened,  in  brief,  was  this.  Gale 
and  Ware,  unable  to  secure  Tom's  services,  even 
by  the  offer  of  a  large  sum  of  money,  had  stooped 
to  the  sending  of  spies  to  his  shop,  to  get  posses* 


THE  GOLD  TOOTH  215 

sion  of  information  about  his  silent  motor.  This 
was  after  Gale  had,  by  accident,  heard  Tom  speak- 
ing of  it  to  Mr.  Damon. 

But,  thanks  to  Tom's  vigilance,  Bower  was  dis- 
covered. The  man  tripped  into  the  mud  hole  lost 
in  the  muck  the  plans  Bower  passed  to  him.  They 
were  never  recovered.  Then  Lydane  tried  again. 
He  managed,  through  bribery,  to  gain  access  to 
the  hangar  where  the  new  silent  machine  was 
kept,  and,  unable  to  get  the  silencer  apart,  tried 
to  file  it.  In  doing  so  he  weakened  it  so  that  it 
burst. 

The  attempt  to  waylay  Tom,  and  so  get  the 
plans  from  him,  had  been  tried  before  this,  only 
a  mistake  had  been  made,  and  Mr.  Nestor  was 
caught  instead.  Finding  out  their  error,  Lydane 
and  his  companions  did  not  tell  the  Universal 
people  of  their  mistake,  though  Gale  and  Ware 
knew  the  attempt  was  to  be  made  against  Tom 
Swift. 

Later,  hearing  that  the  young  inventor  was 
still  at  work  on  his  invention,  Gale  was  much  sur- 
prised, and  paid  his  queer  visit,  in  an  attempt  to 
repudiate  the  actions  of  Lydane.  At  this  time  it 
was  assumed  that  Gale  and  his  partner  did  not 
know  that  it  was  Mr.  Nestor  who  had  been  kid- 
napped by  mistake  or  they  might  have  insisted  on 
his  release.  As  it  was,  Lydane  had  Mary's  father, 
and  was  afraid  to  let  him  go,  though  really  their 


2i6         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

prisoner  became  a  white  elephant  on  the  hands  of 
the  conspirators  and  kidnappers. 

And  it  was  after  all  this  was  cleared  up,  and 
Mr.  Nestor  restored  to  his  family  and  friends, 
that  one  day,  Tom  Swift  received  another  visit 
from  Mr.  Terrill,  the  government  agent. 

"Well,  Mr.  Swift,"  was  the  genial  greeting,  "I 
have  come  to  tell  you  that  the  favorable  report 
made  by  my  friends  and  myself  as  to  the  perform- 
ance of  your  noiseless  motor,  has  been  accepted 
by  the  War  Department,  and  I  have  come  to  ask 
what  your  terms  are.  For  how  much  will  you  sell 
your  patent  to  the  United  States  ?" 

Tom  Swift  arose. 

"The  United  States  hasn't  money  enough  to  buy 
my  patent  of  a  noiseless  motor,"  he  said. 

"Wha— what!"  faltered  Mr.  Terrill.  "Why,  I 
understood — you  don't  mean — they  told  me  you 
were  rather  patriotic,  and " 

"I  hope  I  am  patriotic !"  interrupted  Tom  with 
a  smile.  "And  when  I  say  that  the  United  States 
hasn't  money  enough  to  buy  my  latest  invention  I 
mean  just  that. 

"My  Air  Scout  is  not  for  sale !" 

"You  mean,"  faltered  the  government  agent. 
"You  say " 

"I  mean,"  went  on  Tom,  "that  Silent  Sam  is 
for  Uncle  Sam  without  one  cent  of  cost!  My 
father  and  I  take  great  pleasure  in  presenting  such 


THE  GOLD  TOOTH  217 

machines  as  are  already  manufactured,  those  in 
process  of  making,  and  the  entire  patents,  and  all 
other  rights,  to  the  government  for  the  winning 
of  the  war !" 

"Oh!"  said  Mr.  Terrill  in  rather  a  strange 
voice.  "Oh!" 

And  that  was  all  he  could  say  for  a  little  while. 

But  Tom  Swift  reckoned  without  a  knowledge 
of  a  peculiar  law  which  prohibits  the  United 
States  from  accepting  gifts  totally  without  com- 
pensation, and  so,  in  due  season,  the  young  in- 
ventor received  a  check  for  the  sum  of  one  dollar 
in  full  payment  for  his  silent  motor,  and  the  patent 
rights  thereto.  And  Tom  has  that  check  framed, 
and  hanging  over  his  desk. 

And  so  the  silent  motor  became  an  accomplished 
fact  and  a  great  success.  Those  of  you  who  have 
read  of  its  work  against  the  Boches,  and  how  it 
helped  Uncle  Sam  to  gain  the  mastery  of  the  sky, 
need  not  be  reminded  of  this.  By  it  many  sur- 
prise attacks  were  made,  and  much  valuable  in- 
formation was  obtained  that  otherwise  could  not 
have  been  brought  in. 

One  day,  after  the  rogues  had  been  sent  to 
prison  for  long  terms,  and  Tom  had  turned  over 
to  his  government  his  silent  aircraft — except  one 
which  he  was  induced  to  keep  for  his  own  per- 
sonal use — the  young  inventor  went  to  call  on 
Mary  Nestor.  The  object  of  his  call,  as  I  believe 


2i8         TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

he  stated  it,  was  to  see  how  Mr.  Nestor  was,  but 
that,  of  course,  was  camouflage. 

"Would  you  like  to  come  for  a  ride,  Mary,  in 
the  silent  airship  ?"  asked  Tom,  after  he  had  paid 
his  respects  to  Mr.  Nestor  and  his  wife.  "We 
can  talk  very  easily  on  board  Silent  Sam  without 
the  use  of  a  speaking  tube.  Come  on — we'll  go 
;for  a  moonlight  sky  ride." 

"It  sounds  enticing,"  said  Mary,  with  a  shy 
look  at  Tom.  "But  wouldn't  you  just  as  soon  sit 
on  a  bench  in  the  garden?  It's  moonlight  there, 
and  we  can  talk,  and — and " 

"I'd  just  as  soon !"  said  Tom  quickly. 

And  out  they  went  into  the  beautiful  moonlight; 
and  here  we  will  leave  them  and  say  good-bye. 

THE   END 


This  Isn't  All! 


Would  you  like  to  know  what 
became  of  the  good  friends  you 
have  made  in  this  book? 

Would  you  like  to  read  other 
stories  continuing  their  adventures 
and  experiences,  or  other  books 
quite  as  entertaining  by  the  same 
author? 

On  the  reverse  side  of  the  wrap- 
per which  comes  with  this  book, 
you  will  find  a  wonderful  list  of 
stories  which  you  can  buy  at  the 
same  store  where  you  got  this  book. 

Don't  throw  away  the  Wrapper 

Use  it  as  a  handy  catalog  of  the  books 
you  want  some  day  to  have.  *But  in 
case  you  do  mislay  it,  write  to  the 
Publishers  '  for  a  complete  catalog. 


[THE    TOM    SWIFT    SERIES 

By  VICTOR  APPLETON 

Uniform   Style    of   Binding.      Individual    Colored   Wrappers. 
Every   Volume   Complete   in   Itself. 

Every  boy  possesses  some  form  of  inventive  genius. 
JTom  Swift  is  a  bright,  ingenious  boy  and  his  inventions 
and  adventures  make  the  most  interesting  kind  of  reading. 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  CYCLE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRSHIP 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SUBMARINE  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIRELESS  MESSAGE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RUNABOUT 

TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  DIAMOND  MAKERS 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CAVES  OF  ICE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SKY  RACER 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RIFLE 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CITY  OF  GOLD 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  GLIDER 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  CAPTIVITY 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIZARD  CAMERA 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  SEARCHLIGHT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GIANT  CANNON 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  PHOTO  TELEPHONE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AERIAL  WARSHIP 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  BIG  TUNNEL 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  LAND  OF  WONDERS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  UNDERSEA  SEARCH 

TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  FIRE  FIGHTERS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  LOCOMOTIVE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  FLYING  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  OIL  GUSHER 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  CHEST  OF  SECRETS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRLINE  EXPRESS 

TOM  SWIFT  CIRCLING  THE  "GLOBE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  TALKING  PICTURES 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  HOUSE  ON  WHEELS 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,        PUBLISHERS,        NEW  YORK 


PZ 

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